Breaking Dawn
by Laura178
Summary: COMPLETE.--My version of Breaking Dawn.-----"I couldn't live without Edward, and I would rather my heart stop beating than try." ------ All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.
1. Preface

PREFACE

My entire life had been leading up to this moment. Steadying myself, I turned to look at her. Her pale face could have been that of an angel- except for her eyes. They were such a sickening red color that I felt the impulse to turn away. I could only imagine whose blood it was that gave them that color, how many she had destroyed. A sudden image flew to my mind; a small, dark woman with a cross, pleading for help. For her life. The would-be angel's eyes widened with glee, as if she knew of whom I was thinking. I felt nauseous as I once again realized that she was having fun- she enjoyed this.

I wrenched my gaze away from the glimmering rubies and sought another face. Edward. In the second our eyes met, I found my strength. His features were contorted with horror but behind that, I saw only love. His love for me. Memorizing his face for one last second, I brought my gaze back to her.

A small, cruel smile spread across her face…and then it began.


	2. Goodbyes

1. GOODBYES

"Bells?" a soft voice called.

"Yes?" I answered back, feeling, if that were possible, even guiltier.

Charlie eased open my bedroom door, and stood awkwardly there on the threshold. My heart hurt for the uncertainty on his face. He wasn't sure that I was really his Bella anymore.

"I…" he tried to begin. "I just want you to know that I love you. I…" And with a small, sad smile he left the room.

Once again, I sank down onto my bed, twisting my ring around and around the third finger of my left hand. Was I doing the right thing? Quickly, I tried to banish the thought from my mind. I was ready, I was sure. I knew that there was only one thing I needed to be happy for eternity- and he was climbing through my window.

Even after all our time together, my heart began to drum out a conga at the sight of him. His long and lanky frame was obvious, his muscles hidden beneath his clothes. And oh my goodness, his face. His strong jaw softened into a smile at the sight of me, and I almost melted. Beautiful as his face was, it paled in comparison to his eyes. Nothing I have ever experienced in my life came close to the way his eyes made me feel. The topaz burned me straight to my core, and I was just as helpless to their power as the first day I met him. Chuckling slightly at my foolishness, I walked over to wrap my arms around his waist.

We stood there like that for a while, holding each other.

"Bella?" he began, "Are you alright?"

"Of course. I know Charlie will come around. It just hurts me that this hurts him…even if I know that it's what's best."

He held me tighter at these words, before taking my left hand with his. He kissed my ring softly, and reached up to stroke my cheek. As always, blood rushed up to color my face.

"I want you to be happy, and if this is making you unhappy…" His velvet voice trailed off at the end, full of doubt.

How could he still doubt? With a pang of guilt and sadness, I remembered that he had every reason to doubt me. Jacob. The word shook me to my core, and I tried not to betray my sudden gloom.

"Edward, I need you forever. I love you." I stretched my head to reach his Adam's apple, moving my lips against it softly for a moment. "I want to be Mrs. Edward Cullen."

At this, he looked down at me, his eyes shining brightly.

"And I want you to be Mrs. Edward Cullen." His face broke into that special crooked smile I loved best, and before I could steady my heartbeat, he snaked one hand into my hair, wrapping the other around my waist. My lips met his cold ones, and for a few perfect moments I lost myself in a sea of ecstasy. With a groan, I pulled myself away. I could only handle so much temptation.

"I have to go make dinner."

He faked a pout, and ran his eyes down my body in a way that made me forget all about my resolutions. Trembling slightly, I turned to leave the room.

"Dad?" I called, slightly nervous about what I would find.

And I had good reason to be. Charlie sat slumped over the kitchen table, his face buried in his hands. I tried very hard not allow the guilt to consume me, not to run to his arms and tell him that I would stay with him forever.

"Dad, do you want something to eat?" I tried to force my voice to sound light and cheery. "I have some steaks in the freezer, and I made you a cherry pie for later."

At this, he raised his head to look at me, and lifted one eyebrow in blatant disbelief. I could cook, but I wasn't that good.

"Okay fine, I bought it at the store. I know it's your favorite, anyhow." Blushing slightly, I bent to get the steaks from the fridge.

Charlie gave a small chuckle, and sighed. "Thanks, Bells."

I turned to kiss him on the top of his baldhead, and busied myself with supper.

Groaning, Charlie put the last piece of pie into his mouth and leaned back in his chair. He was well fed, something that almost guaranteed a good mood. Plus, there was a game on later.

"Dad, can we talk about this?"

Coloring slightly, he said, "What is there to talk about Bella, I gave you my approval."

With a sigh, I shook my head. Yes, he had given his approval…technically. I knew how hurt he was by my decision, despite the fact that he tried to swallow his misery and put on a brave face. He hadn't taken to the idea very well, and I tried not to wince as I remembered his initial reactions. He had varied from being incredibly angry to heartbreakingly dejected. I wanted him to be happy that I was happy. I wanted so much more that his approval, I wanted his blessing.

"Dad, I want you to know something. I- I'm really going to miss you. And I'll always be your little girl. I know you don't think I'm ready, that I haven't thought this through. But I have. I love Edward, and he loves me. He'll take care of me."

"I know," he admitted. "But Bells… you're just so young. And I don't know if I'm ready to give you away just yet."

I smiled at him, and willed the tears to stay away. "I want you to walk me down the aisle, Dad. I want you to be there."

Taking a deep breath, I looked up to meet his eyes.

"Bella, I'm just not ready to say goodbye."

I opened my mouth to tell him that my being married was not goodbye; I would always be in his life. But I choked on the lie- somehow, on some level, Charlie knew the truth. This was goodbye.

"Dad…" I didn't know what to tell him. I couldn't lie. Immediately, Charlie's eyes filled with sadness. He knew that I wouldn't contradict him- I wasn't coming back to Forks.

"Bella," he began, breathing deeply to calm himself. "I suppose I'm glad I know now. I don't understand, but… but I know that he loves you. And I'll always be here in Forks, Bells, if you ever need…"

He stopped, giving me one last, miserable look. We both knew that Edward would take care of me, and that I wouldn't be back in Forks. After a minute of silence, I said the only thing that I could; the only thing that I knew would always hold true.

"I love you, Dad."

He laughed in an embarrassed way, and said "Yeah, me too kid." He was never one for this much communication.

"So…what are you and Edward up to tonight?"

His attempt at nonchalance hurt even more, and I tried not to think of how many lonely nights he had, and would have, because of me.

"Actually Dad, I was thinking of just hanging around here. There's a game on."

Charlie turned to smile at me, his crinkly eyes turning up at the corners, letting out a booming laugh. "Of course, I should have known, you never miss a game."

I pretended to scowl at his teasing, glad that I had this night with my father.


	3. Return

2. RETURN

"Alice," I groaned. This was torture. I had been up here for over two hours, and she was _still_ fussing with my dress.

"It will be fine. You've had that dress perfect for weeks now."

"Bella," she laughed, as though astounded at my idiocy. Her dainty, tinkling laugh suited her perfectly. Alice was a tiny ball of life and energy, always pulsating with excitement. "Your wedding is in one week, and you need to be fitted every day."

_Everyday_? What had I gotten myself into? I attempted to hold back my sigh, trying not to hurt her feelings. She had been working on this day and night, after all.

"Bella?" Another voice called from the hallway. My heart skipped a beat, not because it was Edward, but because it was Rosalie.

She cracked open the door, as though uncertain that she would be welcome.

"Come in, Rosalie."

Her eyes roved around the room uncomfortably, before resting on me. I had to stifle another sigh as I looked at her magnificence. She was honest to goodness the most beautiful person I had ever seen in my life. Her golden hair waved gently down her back in a way that made me look at my plain, straight brown hair in disgust. And to think that just moments ago, I had felt pretty in this dress.

"You look gorgeous, Bella." She said. I knew that she was trying very hard to accept my decision, however thoroughly she disagreed.

"Thank you Rosalie," I murmured, still unsure around the woman who would soon be my sister.

"I was wondering," she faltered, sounding less confident than I had ever heard her before, "if you thought anymore about what I told you?"

I had, of course, but that still hadn't changed my mind. I knew that there was no turning back from this decision. Just as there was no way to turn my back on my love for Edward.

"Rosalie, I really have thought about it. But I'm ready. And I'm sure," I repeated for what felt like the millionth time this month.

She nodded, "Just checking," she said. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her eyes once more to mine. "Are you ready to go?"

Go where?

Alice looked over at me nervously, as though she knew what my reaction would be. With a smile, I remembered that she, of course, knew exactly what my reaction would be.

"Now, don't be too upset, but we're going shopping!" She positively writhed with excitement, and I found it hard to disappoint such an angelic face. I rolled my eyes, only pretending to be angry with her.

"Why? Everything is ready." Despite that I was willing to go to make her happy, I honestly didn't think that there were any bridal stores left in Washington that she hadn't bought out.

Ignoring my reluctance, she deftly slipped the painstakingly fitted dress over my head and handed me back my clothes.

"Where are we going?" I asked, resigning myself to her enthusiasm.

Her eyes sparkled mischievously, and I felt myself becoming more and more nervous. I couldn't wait for Edward to come back. He had been gone for only two days, but it felt like an eternity. I frowned in consternation, confused by his absence. He had been disappearing much more often than usual, claiming he needed to hunt. He was keeping something from me.

I was still mulling this over as I slipped in the back of Alice's yellow Porsche. The road flew past us, and Rosalie twiddled the knob on the stereo. In no time at all, thanks to Alice's insane driving, we were in Port Angeles. I focused on remaining indifferent as we walked down the sidewalk for a ways.

"Alice…" I began, telling myself for the thousandth time to be calm. "I really don't see why…" I stopped dead; staring incredulously at the storefront they had dragged me to. Instantly, I turned tomato red and whirled around to face them.

"No!"

"Oh come on, Bella. We'll have fun," She promised, dragging me through the door. I looked around in horror. I was standing in the middle of tables and tables of lacey looking undergarments. Some of them were so risqué that I had to look away in embarrassment. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rosalie trying to suppress her giggles, turning away to inspect a lacey pink slip in her size.

"Alice, this is ridiculous. Let's go!" I insisted, struggling to keep my voice even. I was so mortified that I was actually shaking, which made the situation all the more embarrassing. She ignored me completely, walking up to a tall, round woman wearing a good half an inch of makeup.

"Excuse me," she said, "We're going to need to have her measurements taken, please."

The woman's eyes widened at the sight of the two beautiful and plainly wealthy women. She stumbled over her words, looking at me in confusion. In my obvious plainness, I stood out.

"Of course, follow me."

To my extreme dismay, both Alice and Rosalie followed her, dragging me along. As the sales clerk measured my body from every possible angle, I felt myself turning purple with embarrassment. Her long, fake nails prodded my chin up, entreating me to stand up straight.

"Are you looking for anything special today, ladies?" she simpered, clearly hoping for a large commission.

Alice answered, "Yes, Bella is actually going to be married soon."

The red haired woman's eyes widened. She was satisfied that she would be paid well.

I must not have noticed Rosalie duck out of the room, because in a few minutes she appeared with her arms full of silk, lace, and gauze. I looked at the pile, not trusting myself to speak. I could already feel the angry tears welling up in my eyes.

"Bella," she said, "Really, don't be difficult. This is what sisters do, after all." She looked at the walls awkwardly, as though nervous that I would rebuff her.

My heart softened, and I managed a weak smile.

It was, of course, even worse than I imagined. I was forced into several incredibly embarrassing outfits as Alice and Rosalie oohed and ahhed over me, trying vainly to assure me that I looked good.

In the end, Alice ended up buying me two chemises that she deemed "matronly" and even allowed me to get one pair of pajamas that would actually be comfortable for sleeping. I could not however, convince her to skip buying me a few pieces of lingerie that I knew I would never wear. There were some corseted contraptions and small scraps of lace that I had no idea how to even put on properly, let alone look…alluring in. But I could have been arguing with a brick wall for all the attention they paid me. I was relieved when they led me out of the store, sliding into the car gratefully.

I remained silent the whole way home, torn between anger and embarrassment. There was no way I would ever let them do that to me again. When we pulled into the garage, my heart skipped a beat. Edward was reclining against the hood of his silver Volvo; his arms already open for me.

I flew into him, noticing that his eyes weren't a shade more golden, despite having just been "hunting".

"Welcome home," I whispered in his ear, struggling to breathe as he held me close, planting kisses along my neck, his lips wandering lower…

"Hem, hem," Alice called out jokingly, "I think I'll go put these away now," she said, referring to the bags of lingerie. Rosalie gave us a knowing smile and walked into the house with Alice, shutting the door rather conspicuously behind them.

Edward resumed his kisses, which made it difficult to speak.

"Shopping?" he guessed. As if he couldn't tell from Alice and Rosalie's thoughts. I hoped that they at least had the decency not to think of what we had been shopping for.

"Of course," I gasped, struggling to remember where we had been. Or even what my name was.

Edward lifted his arms from my waist to the nape of my neck, crushing his lips to mine. They were cold as ice, but still my mouth felt like it was on fire. His tongue slipped through my lips, and I breathed in his scent. Edward's smell was indescribable, enticing and mouthwatering. He smelled almost as good to me as I did to him. I let my hand wander across his back, wondering how far I should let this go. After a few heavenly minutes, or perhaps it was several sunlit days, I pulled away from his mouth with a sigh, resting my head against his chest.

Edwards groaned, his feelings perfectly mirroring my own.

"Seven days," he whispered, tracing circles into the small of my back with his fingers. I smiled involuntarily, surprised at my own happiness.

"I love you," I said softly, not trusting myself to look up at him. If I did, I would never be able to refuse him, because I knew how his eyes would glow at my words.

"Forever," he said, into my hair.

After several more moments, he took my hand to lead me back to my ancient truck. He knew how much I wanted to get home; I didn't think I could handle one more dress fitting today.

We were quiet on the drive home, our hands entwined comfortably on the seat. Well, at least I was comfortable. Edward was visibly impatient with the slow pace of the well worn automobile.

"So I was thinking," he began, "about your car."

I stopped myself from protesting, cringing as I remembered the agreement I had made.

He smiled at me as if he could read my thoughts, "I saw this beautiful blue convertible today. A Volkswagen. Very practical, but fast, too." He smiled innocently, lifting my palm to kiss it.

I wanted to tell him to focus on the road, but I knew that it was unnecessary. "Edward, I really don't need…" I started, not wanting to hurt his feelings.

He ignored my protests, pulling up to the house. He leaned over the seat to kiss me lightly on the lips, before reminding me that I promised. I tried very hard to look angry with him, but failed miserably.

"Come on," I said, opening the car door, letting the warm August breeze fill the cab of the truck.

But Edward froze, staring towards the trees. I didn't understand what would make his lip curl up, his body freeze and his face tense up like that. I wildly thought of The Volturi, James, or some unknown enemy as I struggled to make out the edge of the forest encroaching on Charlie's small house.

And then I saw him. There, at the edge of the wood, was a huge, shaggy russet colored were wolf.

Jacob.


	4. Jacob

A/N: Sorry for the short chapters, but I'm trying to give you Jacob's point of view, even if it's very brief. I think I'll be done with the next one by tomorrow night, so I'm sorry if this isn't long enough for you!

By the way, I already covered this in the summary, but just to reiterate, everything I'm writing is based off the fabulous Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. I just love to write- and I definitely acknowledge that all characters and brilliant themes belong to her. Thanks to the people who have read so far! I was so excited that _someone_ read and liked my story that I literally got up and danced this morning! Hah!

3. JACOB

After spending a month losing myself in mountains, I thought that I would be ready. Ready to return, to start to try to fill the empty place that was my heart. I was wrong.

Seeing her there, in that small cab with…_him_ literally chilled my blood. At my temperature, that wasn't so easy to do. It was a relief that I was not human in that moment. If I had been, I surely would have been ripped in two, like pulling stitches from a fresh wound. I had only begun to heal, and now my heart opened once more at the fault line. I guess it's a good thing that I've been with nature for so long, a good thing that I have almost forgotten how to be human.

He saw me first, unveiled panic and hatred on his face, despite his attempts at gallantry. Then her eyes… they found me before I could run. If I had thought that her hold of me had lessened one bit, I was sorely mistaken. The pools of warm, chocolaty brown washed over me; it didn't matter that she sat at least fifty yards away. I couldn't help but remember what her lips had felt like on mine that day: soft, and incredibly sweet as they opened to me. A fresh wave of grief reminded me of the words that had poured from those same lips just hours later. She chose him.

She chose the bloodsucker over me.

I don't know if it was cowardice or chivalry that propelled me from her house. Chivalry maybe, because I started to tremble- not because I was about to rip into my other half, my werewolf side, as I was already as inhuman as it was possible for me to be. No, it was because I tried to stop myself from clawing out the life of the _being_ that she loved. Truly loved. More than she did me.

Deep down, though, I'm sure that it was cowardice. I wasn't ready to put myself through that pain one more time, to stare into her face for another second. I thought that I'd needed to see her, but I was wrong. I needed to forget. To forget everything.

Once again, I flew from my pain, trying to escape a reality I couldn't comprehend. It was easier being a werewolf, but still torture. To think, that just a few years ago I had never appreciated what a beautiful thing a pure, unbroken heart is. Mine felt mangled and broken. She chose him.

_Jacob? _

_Jake, come home. Your pack needs you._

If that last thought had come from Sam, I would not have been able to once again lose myself in wilderness. To feel the release that came with running, trying to out pace my pain.

_Not yet_, I insisted, once more seeking refuge.

I ran faster than I ever had before, and I wondered vaguely if I could die. Not that it mattered really. I doubted that my pain would be erased with my body; surely her face would burn into my eyelids after I stopped breathing, just as they did now when I closed them. Even the eternal shroud of death could never bring relief.

An eternity of torture.


	5. Plans

PLANS

The bare starkness of my bedroom walls mirrored my state of mind. Staring at them, I couldn't help but feel numb, blank. I lay on my bed in Edward's stone arms, both of us listening to my heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump. _Jacob, Jacob, Jacob._

Of course I knew that I would never be able to completely get over Jake, my best friend and my savior during the darkest time of my life. These thoughts made me feel extremely guilty as I curled up with the man I would marry in a few short days. I had no doubts. Only regrets.

Most of all, regret that I had caused so much pain. Mostly pain to Jacob, torturing him with something that would never happen. It hurt me so deeply to know that he was miserable, and that I was the only one who had the power to make him happy. But I couldn't give him what he wanted.

I knew that he had hidden his pain from me when I went to see him that day. I knew this because I now realized what the unfathomable look I'd seen in his eyes as I'd left that last time was- it was agony. I hadn't recognized it at first, because Jacob was usually so full of life. His deadened, hopeless eyes were so startlingly different from the joking werewolf I'd come to care for so deeply. So, after he didn't call, I wasn't surprised. Guilty, maybe, but not frantic. I'd guessed that he would need time to try to heal, and maybe even accept it. It wasn't until Billy came over to watch a game with Charlie two weeks ago that I'd really started to beat myself up again.

Billy had looked exhausted, sitting on our tired old couch watching baseball. I saw the circles under his eyes, but was too nervous to ask him about it. I knew that Billy wouldn't be mad, but I also knew that he blamed me for the problems in his family.

"Hi, Billy," I had said, timidly.

"Hey, Bella," He replied, equally uncomfortable.

He cast his eyes back down to the game for a few moments before awkwardly glancing my way once more.

"I heard that you're getting married… congratulations." Billy Black's dark eyes tightened on the last word, as though it had been forced through his lips.

Jacob had already known of course, but I couldn't suppress the roll of uneasiness as I looked at his father.

"Thank you," I choked out.

It wasn't until Billy had left a couple of hours later that I got the answers I had most needed. Where was Jacob? How was he? Charlie, with all his usual tact, supplied them.

"Billy said Jake hasn't been back since… well for a while now. And he's starting to get worried. Even Sam didn't think it would take this long," He trailed off into silence, leaving me to contemplate how I would answer.

"Oh." That was the brilliant defense I was able to come up with. After everything Jacob- no, Jacob and I- _we_ had been through it seemed laughably inadequate. But what else was there to say?

Charlie looked as if he felt bad. Obviously my frustratingly easy to read face had given me away.

"I'm sure he'll be okay, Bella. He just needs time is all."

I had just nodded, not trusting myself to speak. I took several deep, calming breaths. I knew that Jacob would be in pain. This was _not_ a surprise. I kissed Charlie's rough cheek, and then ran to my truck. Right then I needed to be with the one person who would comfort me and remind me why I was truly happy, in spite of everything.

Which brings me back to Edward. He really was an incredible, unbelievable person to love me so completely after every scar I've left on his silent heart. I know that I have wounded him more seriously than he would ever admit. He forgave me much more easily than I could forgive myself; I would always have this shame with me. I still felt slightly tainted, lying here in his arms. I wanted to be irrevocably his, but Jacob would always be there at the back of our memories, the past that would never go completely away. I felt even more selfish as I realized that Jacob was one of the human memories I desperately hoped would never fade. As bad as the regret was, the thought of forgetting Jacob completely was excruciating.

Sighing, I turned to put my face against Edward's stone chest, breathing in his provocative scent.

"Are you okay?" Edward whispered, full of love, empty of resentment.

"Yes. I knew this wouldn't be easy, but it's better this way. I think it will make it easier for him if we don't really see each other." I didn't finish my thought, because I knew that wasn't completely true. Obviously, Jacob felt that it would be better if we did see each other. Why else would he come here?

"Please stop blaming yourself. This is not your fault. You are perfect and caring and selfless and I love you for that. I wish…"

Before Edward could second-guess my decision once again, I stretched to touch his marble skin. I trailed light kisses over his icy lips before persuading them open, to truly convince him of my certainty. Of course I knew that we would get carried away, but I couldn't resist. I really was shamefully weak.

Edward returned my kisses hesitantly at first, still nervous that I wasn't sure. As the heat of my argument overwhelmed him, he grew more enthusiastic. His hands moved from my back to my shoulders, and then down again to my hips. He held me tighter, and my heart pounded out its bliss. Molding myself to his body, I undid the top buttons of his shirt so easily that it could've been by accident. His perfection really was unbearable, and I couldn't stop touching any part of his skin that I could reach.

I was suddenly on my back, and Edward was all that I could see above me. His hands explored my body, making me quiver in pleasure. Despite his cool temperature, I was bursting into flame. I wrapped my legs tightly around his waist, lost in my desperation for him.

Edward's ocher eyes scorched my skin, setting ablaze any part of me that his long hands had not already ignited. I was panting now, and struggled to remember why I needed to stop this. It shouldn't be allowed for Edward to be so unearthly handsome. I was just as amazed and bewildered by his exquisiteness as I had been the first day that I'd laid eyes on him.

Moaning now, I fought to return to the present. Edward's mouth trailed down my chin, my neck, my chest… I was going to need to stop this, and soon. Otherwise I wouldn't be able to.

"Edward," I panted, my voice low and husky.

He groaned something nondescript, and pressed against me in an irresistible way. Not so that it hurt me of course, he was always much too careful for that. He pressed to me so that it felt like I wanted, needed more. The throbbing that was coming from somewhere in the pit of my stomach refused to slow, and I tried again to force my voice to take away my body's greatest desire.

"We have to stop," I managed to pant, and Edward pulled back slightly.

"Really?" He said, arching his eyebrow. He was simply too tempting to refuse, and he knew it. He grinned at me, resuming the slow caress of my body, lifting my arms so that they were above my head on the pillow. He traced the lines of my arms slowly, before moving lower…

"Yes," I gasped, striving to inject some resolve into my tone. I tried to ignore the way my fingers screamed at me as I pried them loose from his shoulders.

Edward lowered his head in mock penitence, and pressed his face to my neck. Not in a way to make me lose control again, but in a way to make me want to.

"Seven days," I whispered, internally cringing at the thought of so many minutes and seconds.

It wasn't easy, but I turned to snuggle into his chest, trying to slow my sprinting heart. I smiled quietly to myself; it was nice to know that he wanted this as much as I did.

"Seven days," He repeated, kissing me just once at the spot where my neck curves to meet my shoulders. Tightening his hold on me, he started to hum my lullaby. I fell immediately into a dream of him.

The next thing I knew it was morning, and sunlight was streaming in through my window. Immediately I thought of Edward, significant only in his absence. I looked for him quickly, and found him sitting in my old rocking chair, just watching me sleep.

"Come here," I said softly, inviting him to return to the bed. I settled back into him, wondering how I had ever been able to sleep without him next to me before.

He laughed at me and said, "Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?" I answered quickly. What had I said last night? Nothing about Jacob…

"Well, I mean are you sure we can handle it? The things you were saying last night… I had to leave the room. Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to stop myself."

Flushing one of my various shades of pink, I looked up at him. His eyes were glinting, and I was reminded once again of the first few weeks we had been together. Then, when he had said anything about losing control, I had gulped in nervousness. Now, I gulped to try to regain my determination. I could imagine just exactly what had come out of my mouth last night- because I had been thinking of nothing else for months.

Edward chuckled again at my flustered state. "Bella, sometimes you are so sinfully appealing." Predictably, my heart speed up. If I hadn't been so afraid of having revolting morning breath, I might not have been able to disentangle myself from him. I rolled over reluctantly, and then sprinted to the bathroom. Hey, a girl could only handle so much temptation, right?

A half hour later, I tromped down the stairs with my usual grace and coordination. Of course, my… _fiancé_ was there, perfect as usual. I was only just starting to adjust to the word, how would I handle _husband_?

"What are we going to do today?" he asked, running his fingers through my hair as I put some bread into the toaster. Smiling, he reached around me to plug it in- something I always forgot.

"Alice wants us over there this morning. Apparently, there are a few life or death flower decisions that have to be made," I pulled a face. No doubt she would corral us there for hours, trying to coax us into an ostentatious wedding that included doves and fireworks. Try as I might to be all that was tolerant, I wasn't fooling Edward.

But really, I didn't think I was being unreasonable. I agreed to let Alice have her fun because I truly loved her, but some of her ideas were downright ridiculous. Like when she had been disappointed because I wasn't up for flying to Paris- never mind her assurances that it would be relatively inexpensive. I had scoffed at that, until I realized that she meant relatively inexpensive to her other schemes. Before she could go into extreme detail about exactly how many diamonds she envisioned, I had to cut her off. Evidently, when I had told her not to do anything too over the top she hadn't realized I meant no outrageous spending. She had sulked for a few days before coming around, probably only forgiving me then because I agreed not to call it off all together and head to Vegas.

Finished with my last bite of toast now, Edward smoothly took the plate from my hands, put it in the dishwasher, and unplugged the toaster all in the same second.

"I have a feeling Alice won't want to be kept waiting," he explained, leading me outside. I nodded in agreement. Patience was not one of her many talents. I was about halfway out the door, when I stopped dead in my tracks, staring at the driveway incredulously.

There, behind my sturdy red pickup was a dark blue convertible with an expensive looking cream leather top. No, never mind an expensive top, the whole car must have cost a fortune. I thought back to last night, and Edward saying he had _seen_ a car that I might like. What he really must have meant was that he had _bought_ a car that I might like, not considering the hefty price. Even though I knew that we would be married, and technically sharing everything we had, his gifts still made me uneasy. There was no way that I could ever be enough to deserve him, and yet he insisted on treating me like a queen.

"Edward!" I was furious, of course.

"You said," he reminded me innocently, opening up the passenger side door. "Besides," he said, reaching up to stroke my cheek softly, "the color blue looks magnificent with your skin."

Speechless with either anger or pleasure, I allowed myself to be coaxed into the passenger side of the vehicle. Let him drive it, I certainly never would. I fumed the whole way to his house, glaring at the richly furnished interior. Stupid shiny door handles. Stupid fancy GPS. Once at his house, I wrenched open my own car door, trying not to notice how easily it opened and closed. True to form, I caught my toe on the edge of the polished front bumper, but managed to catch myself before I went sprawling. Stupid new car.

"Hi, Bella," Emmett said from the garage, watching as I stalked away from the convertible. "I see you like your present, then." I scowled at him for a while, trying to ignore the amused gleam in his eye. With a roar of laughter, he walked back into the house, probably to go find an audience to entertain with his hilarious new anecdote about Bella, the walking comedy show.

I grimaced at Emmett's back and felt Edward's arms wrap around me.

"Be fair," he said, "This is not a big deal. I have agreed to take away your life, after all. Considering that I will torture myself forever for being so selfish… please just humor me."

It was hard to argue with him when he said things like that, things that made me realize how difficult it would be for him to turn me into a vampire. It was a hard choice for both of us, and we were each losing something. Edward lost my humanity, and I lost my family. It was worth it though; I would do anything to be with Edward forever. Which was exactly how long I was planning on spending with him.

My anger fizzled out and I looked back over at the blue car. It wasn't so bad… but my truck definitely had more character. I wouldn't complain about his gift, but I wasn't getting rid of my truck either, a senior citizen deserved some level respect.

Edward took my hand then, sensing the fight was over. Of course he won, I thought grumpily, he always won. Flashing me a huge grin, he tugged me towards the front door.

"Come on, if we stay out here any longer Alice is going to bounce through the roof. She can't wait."

I rolled my eyes and followed him into the house, where sure enough, Alice was waiting to pounce.

"Bella! Finally!" Alice sang, dancing forward to take my hand from Edward. She dragged me to the living room, impatient at my human pace. Edward trailed peacefully behind us into the large, open space.

"We have a lot to get done today, so I would appreciate some _cooperation_, please," She threatened, and her eyes spelled out dire consequences for anybody who dared to be less than incandescently happy today.

Esme was there too, looking young and charming as she always did. I chose to sit down by her, knowing that I could need the comfort she so effortlessly exuded. I really don't know how long we sat there, because after a while I just let my eyes glaze over. I couldn't keep up with Alice normally, but now she was speaking a mile per minute, her eyes a feverish blend of excitement and mania. I was just thinking that I might want to pay attention when she chose to snap me back to earth.

"Bella? Bella!" she called, disapproval in her tone. "Did you hear me? What color do you want Emmett to wear?"

"Emmett?" I responded perplexedly, "What does it matter?"

"Bella! He'll be officiating, remember? We need to put him in a color that doesn't clash with you or Edward!" She shook her head at my lack of reasoning skills.

I blinked once, and burst into laughter. How could I have forgotten? Emmett just got his official clerical license online last week- this would probably be the best part of the whole ceremony.

Alice looked at me in a disapproval saying, "Never mind, I'll pick it out."

Edward interrupted her then, "Actually Alice, it sounds like you have everything pretty much under control. Bella and I need to go upstairs- Carlisle wants to speak with us."

I looked at him questioningly, but he just wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked up to Carlisle's study. The office was crammed with hundreds of books, tons of medical journals, artwork, and capped off with a large mahogany desk, behind which sat a man handsomer than any movie star. Carlisle was hundreds of years old, but of course he did not age.

He smiled at us in welcome, making me feel completely comfortable. "Good morning Bella, Edward."

We answered back courteously, and I wondered what we were doing here. Edward obviously knew, because he was watching Carlisle apprehensively, listening to his thoughts with a slight frown.

"We need to talk about some of the details," Carlisle began, "for your change. I know that you want to do it after the wedding, so when exactly were you thinking?"

I knew that Edward wanted as much time as possible, so I tried not to look at him when I spoke. "Only a week or two, Carlisle. I'm ready."

Edward's arm tightened around me briefly, but other than that he remained silent. Carlisle too, was observing Edward's reaction carefully.

"Okay. We'll plan it for about a week after the wedding. We have plenty of time, but if you're ready then there's no reason to delay. The wedding is on the eleventh I believe, yes?"

I nodded mutely at him, all of a sudden feeling trepidation. I was prepared, but that didn't stop me from being scared.

"Then let's plan on August twentieth. I think that will be the best time to do it, Charlie will believe that you have gone off to get ready for college in Alaska."

Then he addressed Edward for the first time, "You are able to do it? You have no objections?"

I stared into Edward's eyes for the space of about three seconds, and I saw conflict raging in them. This decision was already made, but I knew how afraid he still was. I put my hand over his, reassuring him of how completely I trusted him.

"Yes," he said quietly, "I can do it."

After that, there really wasn't anything else to say. Carlisle discussed morphine for a few minutes, but he had no more idea than I did if that would do anything. It barely mattered, I found. In sixteen days, I would be bitten.

We left Carlisle's study a short time later, and Edward stopped me just outside of the door.

"Bella…" he started, "I promise to keep you safe. And I will change you on August twentieth if you want me to, but… don't you want more time? I don't want to take away your soul-"

"You are not taking away my soul!" I interrupted, "You have a soul, and I know it because you're the best man I've ever known! I love you, and I want to spend forever with you! We've already made this decision Edward! If I didn't have you, I would lose my soul. I know that by staying with you I'll always have it because you, Edward, you have possessed my soul. It belongs to you forever, whether my heart is beating or not."

He was silent for a moment, before suddenly drawing me to him. He wrapped his arms fiercely around me, as though holding on for his life. He put his face in my hair, breathing deeply. I hung on to him for a while, suddenly overwhelmed by how much I loved him. Everything I'd said was true. I couldn't live without Edward, and I would rather my heart stop beating than try.

"I love you, Bella," he breathed. It was enough. He loved me and that made me strong enough for anything.

After a few minutes of embracing each other fiercely, we began to descend the stairs, wanting to get out of the house and spend some time alone. I felt light again, despite the short space of time that I had until everything would change. I finally knew that I would get everything I was dreaming for: an eternity with Edward. Armed with my certainty, I looked up to see Alice standing at the bottom of the stairs.

Alice was completely still, her eyes distant and far away in the future. Her face filled with terror, and I felt my certainty crashing down around me.


	6. Endings

ENDINGS

Alice was completely still, her eyes distant and far away in the future. Her face filled with terror, and I felt my certainty crashing down around me.

"What happened?" I cried out, wrenching myself from Edward's iron grasp and running to her. "Alice? What do you see?"

She didn't, or maybe couldn't, answer for a few seconds. "The Volturi," she whispered.

By this time, everyone in the house had begun to gather around her. It was unnatural to watch The Cullens grouped around me; their surreal beauty contrasted almost humorously to the grimness of the situation. Jasper put his hands protectively on her shoulders, and looked at her face in concentration.

"Where are they?"

"They're not here _yet_," Alice said.

Before I could be overwhelmed by the nausea that threatened to overtake me, I felt the calming waves of serenity that Jasper sent my way. Randomly, I thought about what a good brother he would be.

"When are they coming?" Japer continued.

"Soon. They can't make up their minds, but we still have some time," She looked at me, so that her expression betrayed her nervousness.

"Alice," Carlisle intoned, "do we have enough time?"

Alice stood quietly for a minute, her delicate eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Yes. We should have enough time for the wedding. But," she hesitated, peering at Edward now, "I don't think we'll have much time after that."

With those words a thick silence engulfed the group, and no one spoke for a while. I could see Alice, her features even more pale than usual with worry. Esme watched Edward, waiting for his temper to boil over. This was his worst fear; that I would be in danger because of what he was. Rosalie bit on her lip, staring at Emmett. Emmett stared back at her, both of them concerned. If the Volturi had decided to interfere with Carlisle's family…

It was Jasper that interrupted my dark thoughts, "It's better that we know. We can be prepared. We should go ahead with the wedding, but after that…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence. After that, the inevitable would happen.

The rest of the day was spent coping with the news. We had known that this would happen, so what did it really change? _Everything_, I answered myself. _It changes everything._

And it really did. Edward and I would not get our few brief days of carefree bliss, and I knew how desperately he wanted me to remain mortal for as long as possible. I was still positive about my decision, but it didn't help that there was a deadline hanging over me. I had known that The Volturi were in my vague future, but now it was like they were an unstoppable force, rushing from the distant horizon to abruptly fill my mind.

Wedding preparations resumed, but even Alice was slightly less than dizzyingly exuberant. I was still happy to be getting married and Edward and I were as much in love as ever. But even those facts couldn't change the newly frenzied atmosphere and the slight edge of trepidation in everyone's thoughts.

With my mind thousands of miles away- in Volterra to be exact- the next few days slipped quickly by. Before I had enough time to take a breath, the morning before my wedding had arrived.

Waiting in the busy Seattle airport, I was reminded of another airport, one that now held memories of terror. Had it really not even been two years? It felt longer somehow, like time had ceased to function properly in Forks.

I twisted to look at Edward, who stood silently next to me. I folded myself into the space between his arm and body and tried to dissect his expression.

He was worried- that much was clear. No, he was more than worried. He was beside himself. The preceding days were marked by his frequent outbursts, and he had even tried convincing me to run away with him. We both knew that wasn't really feasible, but that hadn't stopped us from thinking about it.

He pressed his lips to the top of my head. "She's almost here."

I wound my arms more securely around his waist before answering. "How bad do you think it will be?" I cringed; even the mere memories of my mother's reaction were slightly petrifying.

Her initial response to my phone call several weeks ago had been… less than thrilled. I'd had to grit my teeth for hours, trying to convince her over the phone that no, I was not pregnant, and no, I had not lost my mind. I expected that from her of course, but it didn't stop me from being stung. I'd disappointed her, and I knew it. I wanted so desperately to leave things with Renee on good terms.

A sudden rush of people spewed from one of the nondescript grey doors, and I caught a glimpse of my mother. She was a couple of inches taller than my five feet four, and had shorter, trendier brown hair. I noticed that she'd thought to put in a few red streaks since the last time I'd visited Florida. Renee looked hassled, struggling with her luggage and tugging at her inside-out coat. I grinned in spite of my worries; Renee would be Renee.

"Mom!" I yelled, waving to her. I would've run to her, but I couldn't leave Edward. Plus, it would be good for her to see how much I depended on him.

Relief spread across Renee's face; obviously she had had misgivings about whether she would get lost in an airport the size of Seattle's. Our coming here had been a surprise, as Alice had miraculously freed me from bride duty.

"Bella," she called, jogging over to meet us. "Thanks for coming. Oh my gosh, it's been so long. You look so grown up now…" Renee's eyes flickered briefly to the ring gleaming traitorously on my left hand, giving me away. She had clearly been thinking of my upcoming nuptials.

Not wanting to hear a lecture from her right here in the middle of Seattle International Airport, I took her hand in mine. I smiled to myself as I led my mother to the- _my- _new car. This moment was a perfect metaphor for our relationship. I was forever steering her in the right direction, taking care of my mom.

"Whose car is this?" Renee wondered, her eyes widening at the notion of so much frivolous spending.

"Mine," I admitted, and I felt a blush rise on my cheeks. Doubtless, I would hear about this from her later.

Edward stowed Renee's luggage in the car, and was a flawless gentlemen the entire drive back to Forks. He was trying to charm her, and she looked like it might be working in spite of herself. I smirked; it was nice to not be the only one blinded by Edward's dazzling for once.

We had decided that it was time for Renee to finally meet Edward's family. She'd already met Carlisle and Alice of course, but had yet to meet Esme, Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie. So before heading to the only hotel in Forks, we stopped off at Edward's house. I wondered nervously what she would make of them. My mother was an incredibly intuitive person. What would she think of an entire family of gorgeous, immortal vampires?

I glanced in the rearview mirror and caught Renee's eyes widen upon seeing the house. It was as picturesque as ever, a soft white that contrasted gorgeously with the dark foliage surrounding it. The only difference between Edward's home and what I imagined Anne's house in Green Gables to look like was the sheer size of it; the place was colossal. And to top off this blatantly conspicuous scene were two breathtakingly striking immortals.

"Welcome," Esme called in her endearingly sweet voice, "I am so pleased to finally meet you."

"Yes, of course it's been too long since we've seen you, Renee. You're family now," Carlisle chimed in.

My mother mumbled a hello back at them, staggered by their charm and sincerity.

Esme and Carlisle graciously ushered us into the house, where we found Jasper, Alice, Emmett and Rosalie sitting in the living room. After a minute's introductions full of many meaningless pleasantries, we sat seated around the antique mahogany coffee table. Edward was on my left, and wedged next to me on my other side was Renee. Thanks to Jasper, the mood was relaxed and cheerful.

Alice talked at my mother about all the details of the wedding and exactly how perfect it was going to be. At least she didn't balk too much at Alice's joy. It could have been worse.

"So, Edward," she said, turning to face him, "You and Bella will be leaving for college in a couple of weeks? So much change in such a short amount of time!"

The Cullens and I looked at her awkwardly. She had no idea.

"Yes, Renee, that's the plan," he answered, not ruffled in the slightest.

The conversation lasted comfortably for another half hour or so, until Rosalie pointed out that we should get going. She, Alice, Esme, Renee, and I were all staying in Forks's only hotel tonight, at Alice's insistence. She'd reminded me that a bride was supposed to endure certain traditions.

Outside on the porch, Edward and I drew away from the rest to say goodbye. It was always so hard to leave him, no matter for how short a time.

"I'll miss you," I told him.

"Me too. But by tomorrow at this time, we'll be married." He sounded so resplendently happy that I couldn't help but beam in return.

"How will I be able to sleep tonight?" I mused, thumbing the soft material of his green button up. The color made Edward look especially astounding. It enhanced his flawlessness, and I could almost imagine what his eyes used to look like when they had been green.

"Here," he said, slipping a CD into my fingers. Before I could examine it properly, he tipped my chin upwards for a kiss. It had a bittersweet quality to it, as all of our goodbye kisses did. There was a slightly different quality though, because it would be our last one before becoming man and wife. It was a scary thought, but somehow, it made Edward's lips feel that much more tender against mine. As always, the kiss didn't last long enough.

Edward chuckled, kissing the corner of my right eye instead. "Until tomorrow," he breathed. I felt weak at the knees.

As was to be expected, I could think of nothing but Edward the entire way to the hotel, a somewhat outdated establishment that had a sign outside that read "No Pets". It really was silly the way thinking of his two words made my heart quicken, my breathing sharpen, and my body run wild. Silly, but Edward always had that affect on me.

I wasn't really sure of what to expect on Alice's little outing, and I was surprised that she didn't insist on my staying up with them as late as possible. The evening had been whiled away laughing, talking, and listening to my mother reminisce about my childhood. Some of the stories were entertaining, but most were just embarrassing. I really hoped that Emmett would never get wind of any of these. Despite our fun, Alice promptly wrestled me into the musty smelling bed at nine o'clock. I lay there for a few minutes, contemplating the day ahead. I was curious what Esme, Alice and Rosalie would do all night. It had to be pretty boring to pretend to sleep for nine hours. Maybe ten. I really was exhausted. Especially after what had happened just before I had been confined to get my "beauty rest".

Renee had cornered me while Esme, Rosalie, and Alice went out to pick up the tuxes and run a few other unexplained "errands". I assumed that Alice meant she had to go out and pick up a dozen unicorns or something; I was past caring enough to throw a fit. Everything would be over by this time tomorrow.

"Bella," my mother spoke up timidly, "we need to talk."

"Mom, there's nothing to talk about," I had replied, foreseeing that she would try to talk me out of getting married.

"No, Bella, hear me out," she said.

I sighed and flopped into my stomach across the scratchy duvet, preparing to defend myself, and Edward if need be.

Surprisingly, she didn't immediately begin to attack my decisions and doom me to a life of early disappointment, motherhood, and divorce.

"I won't deny that he loves you. I've said it before; he's very intense and protective of you. I don't understand it, but I guess I'm grateful for that, even if I can't comprehend it completely."

I froze, my natural response to stress. I couldn't tell her. Her world was safer if she didn't know. She was safe in Jacksonville, oblivious to the truth.

"I've told you this before though," she continued, "and I've been thinking about it. Bella, you're old enough to make your own decisions. I know you've been mature enough to do that for a long time. I also know that I'm not crazy. There's something you're not telling me."

When I didn't answer her, she began to nod her head. For my perceptive mother, my reaction was as good as a confirmation.

"I'm really going to miss you Bella. You're the best thing that ever happened to me. And… I just want you to be happy. Wherever you are, whatever you do."

A sob broke free from my chest. I was five years old again, and I needed my mother. "I'll always love you, Mom. And I'm happy."

Tears welled up in Renee's eyes. It was so unfair for me to ask her to say goodbye to her daughter after only eighteen years. She nodded, and hugged me to her. We rocked there for a while, not needing to say anything. We both knew that this was the last time we would ever be together like this, and it almost broke my heart again.

Out of everything I was losing, my mother would probably be what I missed most. Until I'd met Edward, she was my confidant and partner in everything. Our time as mother and daughter was ending.

As I came out of my reverie, I gazed at my mother's sleeping form. _She'll be fine,_ I reminded myself, _she's happy._ I suspected that Renee would always think of her daughter with a sad smile in the years to come, but I also knew she would take comfort from the knowledge that I was truly content.

Predictably, I began thinking of Edward to pass the hours until morning. Remembering the mysterious CD he had given me, I quickly got up to riffle through my duffel bag. Alice opened one of her lids from her spot on the pullout, the threat clear through her squint. I grabbed the disc and shoved it into my Walkman before Alice could force me back into bed.

My lullaby floated from the headphones, bringing me some comfort. I curled into a ball and could almost pretend, with the icy breeze radiating from the air conditioner, that Edward was here. I grinned into the cotton fabric of the pillow. This was the last night we would ever be separated.

_A/N: I just wanted to say thanks for the positive reviews. If you like it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know. I want to get better! I'd especially like to thank phoenix315 who has reviewed the chapters practically as fast as I can post them. ___


	7. Beginnings

BEGINNINGS

Wow. I twirled in front of Alice's full-length mirror, and couldn't believe my eyes. Alice, of course, had worked a miracle. She and Rosalie had spent hours this morning giving me a manicure and pedicure, doing my makeup and hair. My dark locks were slightly curled, and mostly gathered up with elaborate pearl pins. Only a few curls cascaded down my back to brush against my skin gently. I had to admit, I was stunning. The best part was, I still looked like me.

The dress that Alice had picked out was perfect. It was a sleeveless, classic looking piece, with tasteful beading and lace. The best part, however, was the back of the dress. It tied in the back, corset style. I trembled and blushed, already imagining Edward's reaction.

"Hey gorgeous," Rosalie said, walking into the room. She was wearing a tight fitting purple dress that left little to the imagination. Despite her stunning looks, this was the one day I didn't feel ugly by comparison.

"I definitely agree… Oh Bella, if I could cry, I would be sobbing right now," Alice came to stand beside me and wrapped one small arm around my waist. Her bridesmaid dress was pale blue, and contrasted with her skin perfectly.

"I'm just so happy you're finally going to be my sister," she continued.

I hugged her back, "Alice, I already consider you my sister."

I glanced at Rosalie's beautiful face in the mirror and said, "Rosalie… I think of you as my sister, too."

Rosalie gave me one small, tremulous smile and walked over to us, wrapping her arm around my waist also. She didn't have to say anything; I knew that everything was all right between us.

_Oh my god,_ I thought, _this is it_. What was I doing? Was I insane? I was going to get married at eighteen! 

I seriously debated running for the door, and Alice respectfully tried to ignore her visions of me streaking through the streets of Forks, screaming. 

At that moment, Charlie tapped lightly on Alice's door. "Can I come in?"

I answered in the affirmative, and he swung the door lightly to step into the room. He wore a brand new black tux for the occasion, and a red tie. Charlie had dressed to the nines- he must really care. Immediately, his eyes began to fill with tears.

"Dad…"

"Bella, you… You look grown-up," he tried to give me a watery smile. I went to him and wrapped my arms around his shaking shoulders. I knew that those words had been hard for him to say. He didn't want me to be grown-up. 

"Thank-you, Dad," I cleared my throat slightly. I had tried to put a lot of things into that thank you. Mostly a thank-you for leading me to Forks, and to Edward. It was easier now to get emotional with Charlie, but not completely comfortable. I tried to sound casual, "And you look pretty dapper, if I do say so myself."

Charlie finally laughed, and released me from his arms. Alice and Rosalie came over to us, kissed Charlie once on the cheek, and left the room. Before shutting the door, Alice turned to me and said, "It's almost time."

Once again, panic flooded through me. This was what I wanted right? _Right?_ Oh crap…oh crap, crap, crap.

Before I could force my legs to carry me out the window and away from my wedding, Charlie took my hand. 

"Are you ready?"

I sighed, taking one last look in the mirror. "Yes," I said, hoping my lie sounded believable. I had never been less ready for anything. 

Charlie took my hand and led me down the stairs, shaking slightly. Giving his daughter away was not going to be easy. 

Time felt like it was speeding up. The stairs and hall seemed to blur, and all I could see were the glass doors leading to the backyard. In the distance, I heard a piano start to play.

Alice walked out first, carrying one small white rose in her hands. I looked down at my own, and was startled to see a bouquet of freesia. 

Before I knew what was happening, the glass doors were pulled back and I found myself walking down what had to be the longest aisle in history. 

Of course, Alice had gone overboard. It might have been simple to her, but it was still extravagant. The Cullens' backyard was completely transformed: twinkling lights adorned the trees, sheets of silvery fabric were strategically placed in a semblance of a wedding tent, and hundreds of white candles sat in silver holders along the aisle. It looked like the entire town of Forks had been invited: Mike sat with Jessica, looking distinctly depressed; Mr. Banner from biology accompanied his dumpy looking wife; There were even people I had never seen before, one of them a pretty girl with reddish brown hair; Angela and Ben were in the second row, sharing a box of Kleenex. The guests sat on hundreds of chairs covered in white silk, and adorned with a silver bow. Esme, Jasper, Rosalie, Carlisle and Renee shared the first row.

Silent tears were streaming down Renee's face, but both she and Esme were smiling and holding hands. Carlisle looked gruff and proud, and Jasper was basking in the reflected joy of the atmosphere.

I took a deep breath, realizing the familiar notes that washed around me. It was my lullaby. I raised my eyes to look at the piano, and Edward was sitting there, his ivory hands flying across the keys, drinking in the sight of me.

I had to gasp. He looked so incredibly…amazing. His coat tailed jacket fanned out on the bench behind him, and the black on his white satin skin made my heart thump unevenly in my chest. I literally couldn't think of a way to describe him. His eyes burned into mine, and all the doubts I might have had melted away. He was everything I needed, everything I could ever want. 

Finally, I reached the end of the aisle strewn with white rose petals. Charlie covered my trembling hand with his own, and kissed me on the cheek. Silently, he replaced his hand with Edward's, who had come to stand beside me. 

"Thank you, Charlie," said Edward, his voice burning with emotion. Charlie could only nod before he escaped to his seat next to Carlisle, who patted his shoulder understandingly. 

I simply gazed into Edward's topaz eyes, trying to remember how to breathe. When I heard Emmett's voice, I was so surprised that I almost fell over. He stood in front of us, solemnly serious in a grey suit and white tie. He even held a bible in his large hands.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate my brother Edward and our dear friend Bella. It was almost two years ago that Bella first _fell_ into his life…" Emmett began. I caught the joke and even the wink he gave me, but couldn't focus on the words he was saying. I had thought that I would be laughing when Emmett officiated the ceremony; I had been wrong. I could only stare at Edward's face while my heart threatened to leap out of my chest. Before I could compose myself, it was time to read the vows we had written for each other.

Edward began, "Isabella Marie Swan, I have waited my entire life for you. Before you, I didn't know what it was to be happy. It is only with you that I can really appreciate the beauty of this world, because you are in it. You are the light that makes my days bright, and the warmth of the sun. I would do anything for you…my life…my love." 

His eyes smoldered passionately into mine, and a lump rose in my throat. I saw his jaw flex, not with anger, but with emotion. I realized that if he could, he would be crying. 

"Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, I promise to treasure and love you for the rest of my life. The only way I can live is with you, and the only way I can be happy is at your side. If I didn't have you, I would be missing a piece of me. You are the best man I have ever known, and each day is better than the last because we are together. I give myself to you wholly and completely. I will love you forever."

By this time, the tears were flowing down my cheeks. I didn't care if I looked awful. The only thing that mattered was Edward. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it, briefly. The words we had said were inconsequential compared to the love we had for each other. 

I didn't hear Emmett's words, I was barely aware of the actions that put a ring on each of our fingers. My mind could focus on nothing but Edward. At some point, Emmett must have told him to kiss the bride, because he placed one cool hand at my neck, and the other on my bared back. Before I closing my eyes, I noticed that the sun had just dipped out of sight; it was twilight.

Our kiss could have lasted several days, or even years, and it still wouldn't have been enough. It was different from any other that we had shared. There were no cautious lines to hold us now, and all I could feel radiating from his lips was pure bliss. I forgot everything as I melted into Edward. With a small gasp, he pulled gently away from me to look into my eyes, his own burning with glorious and unabashed triumph. 

"I love you, Mrs. Cullen."

"I love you, Mr. Cullen."

As we stood there wrapped in our own private heaven, I became aware of the applause swirling around us. Like somebody had turned the volume back up, I finally noticed the crying, cheering, clapping mass of people. Predictably, I blushed, and Edward reached up to stroke my reddened cheek. 

To much hooting and laughing, he suddenly swept me off my feet- figuratively and literally. He carried me back down the aisle. Was it even possible that just a few short minutes ago, I had walked down this aisle as Bella Swan? Everything looked new and different…better. I was married. To Edward Cullen.

If you asked me to describe the reception, I probably couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell you what we ate (or in The Cullens' case, pretended to eat), I couldn't tell you who congratulated us, I couldn't tell you what planet we were on.

But if you asked me to describe Edward… I could tell you how our eyes never left one another, how he traced circles into my back, how I would blush when his eyes raked over my dress. I could tell you about how complete I felt when we were announced as man and wife, I could tell you about our first dance, how closely he held me, not allowing even an inch of space between us. 

It was, without a doubt, the best day of my life. I realized that Alice had been right: I was definitely going to thank her for this.

After the last guests began to trickle out and I had said a tearful goodbye to my parents, I felt a combination of nerves and desire ripple through my stomach. Never before had I felt this intensely.

Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Esme and Carlisle embraced us once more each, and then left to go hunting. Jasper claimed that being around so many people was starting to wear on him, but I was grateful for the privacy.

As soon as _our_ family had left, Edward pulled me in close to him. 

"I love you, Bella Cullen."

"I love you, too," I choked out, gasping for air already. 

Edward lifted me into his arms, never breaking our kiss. His tongue explored me eagerly, and I was only too happy to oblige him. We slowly made our way up the stairs to _our_ room, and he paused at the door.

"Bella…" he began. 

I interrupted him, "I trust you, I love you… and I _need_ you, Edward."

At my words, he drew in a shaky breath and ran his fingers down my neck, down my shoulders, and down my arms, leaving a trail of molten fire behind him. I wound my fingers into his bronze hair, drawing him closer. 

Finally, finally, we were through the door. Goosebumps erupted across my skin, and a pink flush tinged my face, but I didn't care. I didn't care about anything that wasn't Edward.

Slowly, torturously, he removed each pin from my hair, taking the time to caress the sensitive skin behind my neck with each tug. Whimpering now, I slid his jacket from his shoulders and his tie from around his neck.

The heat that radiated from my very core burned me to the tips of my toes, and I shook again with each movement of his mouth. At last, his shirt was off and I could trace all of his perfect muscles. Our mouths found each other once again, and I moaned slightly. He tasted so good…

I gasped as his cold hands went to my back, and began to untie the silken bow. It was torture and heaven, all wrapped into one. Edward looked at me once more, and he didn't need to say anything. I saw his love for me, and it was enough. Enough for forever. Carefully, reverently, he lifted me from my dress.

**A/N: So that was your seventh chapter. I realize that some of you are going to be mad for the lack of lemon-age. Let me defend myself: 1) I am really bad at writing them… 2) I really doubt that Stephenie Meyer would do that in the real book, and I feel sort of weird taking her characters all the way. 3) I might do a wedding night lemon in a separate one-shot, but I want to keep this rated T. (Oh by the way… can someone tell me if this is crossing the "T-line"? I really have no idea)**

**I was going to update yesterday but got too caught up reading this really funny cool fanfic called "Boycotts and Barflies". I hope the author, ****vjgm****, doesn't mind me raving about her story here. **

**Oh well, we all knew the chapter-a-day streak couldn't last. Give me a little credit though- this chapter was originally supposed to be two. Thanks, as always, to everyone who reviewed. On my profile, there are links to pictures of some of the stuff I have put in the story so far, and will add more as needed. **

**Also, if you like this story, check out the other one I'm working on, about Quil and Claire. It's lighter and closer to my personality, because I'm trying really hard to stay in "character" on this story. Don't worry; I'm definitely still working on this story, too. "Timeless" is just for when Bella starts to make me insane…with jealousy. Why can't Edward be real? So now my obnoxiously long author's note is done... and remember, reviews make me smile ;) **


	8. Nature

**A/N: As usual everything belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Also, as usual, I love getting reviews. :-) . This chapter starts a little slow, but be patient, this is important. If you really care to find it, I had to add two small sentences to the last chapter. I meant to put them in, but was so wrapped up in the wedding that I completely forgot. They are nice to have, but aren't all that important. The next chapter will be when the plot starts to really get interesting and it will definitely be longer…but I won't spoil it for you here.**

NATURE

Jacob's POV

"Jake?" 

"Jacob man, you don't have to do this."

Quil and Embry's concerned voices surrounded me, but would not permeate my brain. It was as though they were speaking from the other side of a veil. It was strange to have to listen to them like this again, as humans. I had spent the past weeks as my other half, my werewolf half. Everything was just so much clearer as a human… and yet so much more confusing. My body was slow and clumsy, but the pain… the strength of the pain had not faded with the strength of my body.

The last weeks were torture. I knew that she didn't want me- but for her to want that bloodsucker… and that wasn't even the worst part. She didn't just want to be _with _those evil abominations, she wanted to _be_ one of them. If that happened she would never be the same again. Her heart would stop, her skin would ice over, and her eyes would turn scarlet. She wouldn't be Bella.

I stood abruptly and pulled the tie from around my neck. It wasn't necessary. 

"Yes, I do," I whispered. If I spoke any louder, my voice might break.

I was oblivious to their continued hesitations and warnings, and drove the entire way to The Cullens' house. We parked at least a mile away from the place, but it still wasn't enough- the stench was everywhere. 

"Embry, Quil, you don't have to come."

They shook their heads immediately and opened their doors, doing their best not to cringe as a fresh wave of the putrid scent washed over us.

"We're here for you, Jake," Embry said.

I sighed and nodded. We were brothers after all. And they would see it all later, even if they didn't now. I couldn't hide my weakness and pain from them anymore than I could hide it from myself.

We walked slowly and carefully through the trees that blocked the large house from view. We needed no map; the sickly sweet smell was our guide. We were technically allowed to be here; I had, after all, been invited. I still wasn't sure why Edward had done that. Sure, he could believe that it was the noble thing to do. Or he could be torturing me. _If_ I had been in Edward's position, would I have done the same thing? I would never know.

I stopped at the edge of the trees, getting as close as possible without being visible from the yard. The backyard of the house had been draped with fabric and decorated with candles. Dozens and dozens of people were there, milling about on the grass. It was disgusting- seven vampires who thirsted for their blood surrounded them, and they didn't even know it. Were it not for the aisle and adorned archway at the end of it, it could have been a feast. 

Quil and Embry hung back a few yards, trying to support me, but also trying to give me some privacy. I appreciated it. Also, their self-control was not as great as mine. It was more difficult for them to watch the innocent and warm-blooded humans mingle with to the cold ones.

After what seemed an eternity but could have only been about twenty minutes, the guests began to sit on the cloth-covered chairs. Oh god. It was time.

The blood- Edward sat down on a piano and began to play. In time, the small psychic came through the glass doors and walked down the aisle. She was unbelievably graceful- and lethal.

I took a deep breath and looked towards the doors once more. A beautiful woman in a white dress stepped through them, arm in arm with a balding, middle-aged man. The woman was beautiful, glowing. 

Bella. My Bella.

With every step she took to him, she got closer and closer to death. My hands began to tremble as the enormous vampire whose name I couldn't remember began to speak. It didn't matter what he was saying. It didn't matter what _he_ or Bella said. The only moment that mattered was when two small, seemingly inconsequential pieces of metal were placed on their fingers. That was the end. The end of hope. I began to shake more violently than ever as he placed his cold mouth over hers. I was imagining the poisonous, dripping fangs. Just when I thought that my heart must shatter from the pain, a new stake was driven through it. They were pronounced husband and wife. 

I thought that I had stopped to hoping, but I was wrong. Somewhere, in some dark corner of my brain, there had existed hope. Hope that she would realize her mistake before it was too late. That hope was cruelly extinguished, and completely snuffed out. It was too late. _Too late_. All I could do was watch as the woman I loved chose to die.

I couldn't see anymore; the red fog was blinding me. The lines of my body began to blur, and my skin felt like it was going to melt. 

A warm hand reached out to grip my shoulder. Quil tried to steady me, to hold me in one piece. He was my brother, and would be strong for me when I couldn't be.

I regained control in time to see him whisk her away. Just like that. He carried away the love of my life. She hadn't even seen me. I knew that _they_ knew we were here though- they could smell us just as easily as we could them. I tried to feel a small amount of relief that it hadn't turned into a fight- but somehow I couldn't manage. Would death really be so terrible? I would jump at any chance to attack one of the foul creatures that took Bella away from me. 

I had to leave, before I really lost control. I couldn't last much longer. 

The red haze started to overtake me, and I forced myself to try and find Bella's eyes just once more. Just one more time before their sweet caramel brown became a bloody red.

But she was already gone- my eyes locked instead on a very different pair. They were blue-green, and had an almost grayish quality to them. The eyes widened in shock, not expecting to see me any more than I had them. The pair of sparkling eyes belonged to a tallish, skinny girl with brown hair. In the faltering light of twilight, I could just make out the reddish tint to it. Full eyelashes fanned upwards to accentuate her dark eyebrows; they were prominent on her delicate face. Her nose was straight and narrow, and her cheekbones high and delicate. The pink bottom lip was very full, and her mouth was shaped like a heart. To anyone else, she would appear ordinary. Pretty, maybe, but a little awkwardly tall and plain to be beautiful. But to me…

Before that moment, I thought I had known what had been keeping me alive for almost seventeen years. I thought that I stood because of the solid ground beneath my feet. I thought that I breathed because my lungs had no other choice. I thought that my heart pumped of it's own conviction. But I was wrong.

Now I knew that it was all because of her. The air and ground had been sustaining me only so that I could have a chance to glimpse her. The sun had risen all these countless millennia only for the joy of lighting her breathtaking face. This girl was the anchor that tied me to life- literally the center of the universe. 

The second that I stared at her could have lasted an eternity and I wouldn't have noticed- nothing mattered anymore. 

"Jake?" Embry asked.

Who was that? Did it matter? Nothing mattered except for her.

He shook my shoulder once, and tried again. "Jacob!"

With the small action, my eyes tore away from her perfect ones. I took a breath, and I noticed that even the air seemed different- more pure somehow, because it had been scented with her fragrance. It was like citrus, but more exotic. 

No. No. What was happening? This was wrong; how could anyone matter besides Bella?

With a moan, I finally felt the pain that rested somewhere between my fourth and fifth ribs. I hadn't noticed in the brief moment that I'd seen her face, but while staring at her the pain had disappeared. I scanned the scene quickly; she had gone. And the pain had returned in her absence.

"Quil?" I asked. He would know. He had to know. He had to be able to fix it- this wasn't right. I didn't have control of myself.

Quil's chocolate eyes widened as he took in my changed appearance. I didn't know how I looked, but if it was anywhere near as differently as my inside was, then I might as well have turned purple.

Slowly, Quil nodded his head. He looked at stunned as I was. But still, he answered my question.

This time, the haze did overpower me. What was the point of stopping it? I ripped from my body, and felt Embry and Quil join me as they, too, phased.

We stood there, fully silent for at least thirty seconds. They knew everything.

I turned and ran, the only thing I could think of. It was so natural now. 

_Jacob,_ Quil thought, _you can't run from it. _

The only thing I heard from Embry was, _Holy shit._

_It's nature, _came the first voice, _It's your nature. You can't fight it._

Quil knew that that was I all I wanted to do, run from it. Run from myself. If it was nature, how could I overcome it? But then again, I thought while I ran, maybe I could be stronger than nature. I loved Bella. Seeing her hadn't changed that, though it had certainly changed everything else. 

Bella. 

Nature.

Bella.

Nature.

Run.


	9. Departure

**A/N: If I owned these characters, I would not have to write FAN fiction.**

**The bad news: My teachers are evil, and so is my coach. Oh, plus it turns out I need to sleep sometimes.**

**The good news: The next chapter is almost done and I finished planning out the rest of the story so it should go much faster. Knock on wood. **

DEPARTURE

I rolled over in bed, trying to remember my dream. It had been such a good one, too. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Cullen," said a soft, velvety voice.

Maybe my dream was real after all. Edward was still here, holding me close. This was better than any dream.

"Good morning, Mr. Cullen," I replied, kissing him once on his marble lips.

"I love to hear you say that," he whispered, pulling me closer to his cool body. 

We lay there like that for a while, not needing to say anything. We were married. _Married_. Yesterday hadn't been as awful as I had thought it would be. Okay, well, it hadn't been awful at all. And last night…

I felt a blush creep up my neck. Just thinking about it made my heart splutter frantically.

Edward kissed me behind my ear, and whispered into the sensitive skin there. "Your heart is racing. What are you thinking about?"

I looked up into his honey-colored eyes. They were lighter than I had ever seen them before. I was not surprised, though; Edward had done everything to be very, very careful. 

"Last night," I told him, turning even redder. 

Edward gave me his breathtaking, crooked smile. "Were you?"

I nodded weakly as he began to wrap his long hands more closely around me. 

He continued, "And just what were you thinking about it?"

I trembled slightly. "I was thinking that I love you. And I was thinking that we might have to do that again sometime."

He needed no further invitation. Despite all his caution, last night had been truly amazing. I never imagined that I could possibly be closer to him or that I could feel more connected. Once again, I proved to myself that every time I thought I couldn't possibly be any more in love with him, I turned out to be wrong.

Edward's cold hands slowly tugged off the pajama top I was wearing, and I eagerly let him claim my body, just as he had done last night. I would never get enough of this.

I ran my fingers through his bronze hair, bringing him closer. And yet, it wasn't close enough.

The kiss deepened, and a low growl escaped Edward's chest.

"Careful, Bella," he warned.

I reluctantly distanced myself from his gleaming teeth, instead turning my attention to his glorious body. He was just as much mine as I was his. 

Edward drew in a quick breath and took both of my hands in his.

"You'll be the death of me, Bella Cullen."

I smirked at him when he leaned down to brush his lips against mine. I would never get tired of hearing that, not for a thousand years. 

Before I could think of just exactly how wonderful each and every one of those years was going to be, Edward made me forget everything. I had to try and remember how to breathe. I really, really liked being married. A lot.

Later on, and feeling slightly more wide-awake, Edward and I walked slowly down the stairs. Everything was perfect. 

I laughed when I saw him pull cereal out from on of the kitchen cupboards I had previously known to be empty.

"You really thought of everything, didn't you?"

Alice danced into the room then, interrupting. "Bella," she laughed, "we probably have more food here than you could eat in two lifetimes."

I shook my head at her very silly, overprotective brother. I chewed slowly on my cereal, trying not to think about whether or not it would be my last breakfast. 

"Bella," Edward said softly, "we have to leave tonight."

I took a deep breath and looked up at his handsome face. "I was just thinking about that."

He was silent, trying once again to read my mind. Apparently, the attempt was as futile as ever.

Before he could try to convince me to change my mind again, I started to talk. 

"Where are the others? We need to get ready."

Alice and Edward were still staring at me, each one with a look of concern. I rolled my eyes at the pair of them. 

Alice giggled, sensing my mood. "Let's go pack, then."

I agreed reluctantly. I might not need sleep soon, but for right now I was still very much a tired human.

Edward scooped me up in his arms, seeing through my attempts to smother my yawns.

"I already did most of our packing for us, love."

"Have I told you recently how much I love you?" I said, wrapping my arms around his neck. It wasn't easy to do with him cradling me, but I managed. He bent his head to softly peck my lips, but it was enough to drive me crazy.

Just then, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme joined us in the kitchen.

Jasper froze midway through the door, looking very uncomfortable. Emmett took one look at him and cracked up laughing, doubling over. Rosalie and Carlisle tried very hard to feign ignorance, but did not succeed; they settled for indulgent smiles. Suddenly realizing what was the matter, I flushed. 

"Good morning," I greeted them as I tried to disentangle myself from Edward.

My attempt at being casual and unruffled was not fooling anyone. Thankfully, Esme came to my rescue. 

"Edward," she called to him in her sweet voice, "Can you help the boys pack up the cars?"

Esme was really the best second mother a girl could ask for. She winked at me, barely containing her own laughter. I knew that seeing Edward this happy made her positively glow with joy.

Alice grabbed my hand and dragged me back up the stairs.

"Alice!" I complained, "Be nice! I'm your sister now, you know."

"Oh I know," she said with a devilish grin. "So I was thinking that means it's time for some sisterly girl talk."

I groaned, knowing exactly where she was going with this. 

"I need to shower, Alice."

She pushed her bottom lip out and widened her golden eyes. Her chin even trembled the tiniest bit. It was a nice touch. But not good enough. I sprinted off to the bathroom, hoping she wouldn't stop me. 

"Bella!" Alice squealed, jumping up. She would just have to get used to the disappointment.

I turned on the hot water in the shower, pretending that I couldn't hear her. 

She pouted from outside the door. "I'll corner you some time Bella."

I shivered despite the scalding hot water. Her threat was very real.

One not-so-relaxing shower later found me back in Edward's arms. It was already almost twilight- I had slept much longer than I thought, although I had a very good reason to be tired. I bit my lip and failed to keep the pink from rushing to my cheeks.

Edward laughed, probably knowing what I was thinking. Again, I wondered if he really could read my mind.

"Are you ready?"

"Almost," I answered. There was just one thing I needed to do first.

Within a few minutes, thanks to Edward's driving, the Volvo was parked in Charlie's driveway. I knocked on the door, waiting patiently for the shuffle of feet. I could hear the baseball game in the background.

"Hey kiddo!" Charlie very nearly yelled, "Miss me already?"

I laughed and returned his grin. Charlie knew that I was leaving for college after the wedding of course, but I doubted he had thought it would be this early.

"Morning, Dad." 

"Good morning, Charlie," Edward said, nodding to my father respectfully.

"Hello, Edward," he replied. This was awkward. But it was nice that Charlie was trying to be better about Edward.

I looked around the living room and turned the corner to peer into the kitchen. As I'd suspected, Charlie had tried to make a few measly pieces of toast this morning. Tried and failed, miserably.

I shook my head. How was he going to make it on his own? I opened the fridge, fully intending to make him a full dinner before we left. And possibly a few packaged meals. Plus, I would have to remember to email him recipes every so often.

Charlie came around the corner then, knowing what I was up to.

"Don't worry Bells," he insisted, "You worry too much. I'll be fine."

"Dad…" I began, looking at the blackened pieces of toast around me.

"You know, I did manage for seventeen years by myself," Charlie reminded me. How on earth had he done it?

I allowed myself to be steered back to the living room. I sat next to Charlie on the couch, and Edward occupied the chair. 

"Are you leaving already?" Charlie asked suddenly.

What? How did he know? Charlie took in my bemused expression and nodded toward Edward's overflowing Volvo. We would both be riding in that car, while Esme very kindly drove the beetle for me. Sadly, my trusty truck was going to be left behind. I'd tried very hard to convince Edward to let me keep it, but he pointed out that it really wasn't practical to drag it all the way up to Alaska. I was sad, but I knew that it wouldn't be able to make it. However, it would have a good home. I was leaving it for Angela: she needed a car for college. Angela had, of course, promised me she would take very good care of it. I really would miss her- and I wasn't just talking about my truck.

Edward answered for me, "Yes, we thought it would be best to get settled before the semester."

Charlie nodded absently, still staring abstractly out the window at the silver car.

At this point, Charlie knew that I knew he knew something. But still, he replied normally.

"That makes sense. You kids have a lot to do, especially since it will take a couple of days to get up there."

After a few more minutes of silence in which I examined Charlie's reaction carefully, Edward suddenly stood up. He kissed me on the cheek, clasped hands with Charlie and accepted his wishes for a good semester, and went to wait in the car. Sometimes, he knew just what I needed.

"Dad, I'm really going to miss you."

Charlie let out the breath that he seemed to have been holding. "I'm really happy you came to live with me, Bells."

I swallowed with difficulty. Yesterday had been hard, but this was it. It really was the final goodbye. From now on, Charlie would be safer without my problems and me: like a clan of infamously sinister vampires who were determined to see my heart stop beating, one way or another.

"I'm really glad I came to live here, too, Dad."

Charlie hugged me briefly, before gruffly telling me I better not keep Edward waiting.

"I love you, Dad," I said. I felt awful to be leaving him. Especially alone like this. I had to keep reminding myself that this was for the best.

"Yeah, me too, kid."

Charlie didn't need to say it. I knew how he felt. I promised to call him when I was settled at college, and he in turn promised to get a decent meal every once in a while. 

I sat in the Volvo with Edward, and watched Charlie wave goodbye to us. His eyes were sad, but he seemed mostly fine. I hoped with all my heart that he would be okay. He had Billy, and he loved his job. 

I thought about Billy for a minute, and wondered again how Jacob was. Before leaving Charlie's house for the last time, I'd asked him to tell Jacob "Goodbye" for me. It was too much to ask of him, and myself that I do it in person. Hopefully, he would understand.

Since that night when Jacob had been near my house, Edward and I hadn't spoken about him. I thought about him sometimes, but I always tried not to let Edward know. I had no idea what he really thought about Jacob. I did know that Jacob had been at the wedding, though; Edward told me this morning. I wasn't angry with him for inviting Jacob. It was his choice to come, and I tried to think of his coming as a friendly gesture. Jacob had, after all, promised to be my friend. I could only hope that that promise was unconditional- because otherwise I would very soon be his enemy.

We drove in silence for a couple of minutes, seeing the familiar places of Forks for the last time. We passed by Angela's house, Forks high school, Mike's sporting good store, the bank, and I even waved goodbye to Jessica as she walked down the street. 

It was incredibly sad to have to say goodbye to the only place I'd ever felt truly at home at. Saying goodbye to Edward's house this morning had been equally difficult. I would really miss Forks.

Edward took my hand in his, saying, "What are you thinking about?"

I smiled at him and kissed his palm. "I'm thinking that I'm glad I get to take the best part of Forks with me."

He pulled our entwined hands up to stroke my cheek with the back of his fingers. 

"I love you," he said.

"I know." 

Edward's musical laugh made me realize just how true what I'd said was: I was lucky to be taking Edward with me.

We drove out of the town limits. Out of Forks, on to our brand new lives. 


	10. Denali

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Especially thanks to people who review pretty regularly- you know who you are. I love hearing from you because you can offer some good perspective as I go along! **

**Okay, so this chapter is leading up to the exciting stuff, and also the "risky" stuff. From this point on, it's not totally obvious what's coming, so I hope you like my take on it, and let me know what you think of the direction I'm going. P.S…. Twilight still belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

DENALI

I was going to go insane. Literally. It had been twelve hours since we left Forks, which meant that it was roughly seven-thirty in the morning. Sometime in the night I had been switched to Alice's car, and I was not happy. She had finally gotten me, and I wasn't sure who was more angry- Edward or me. 

Edward's Volvo was tailing the yellow Porsche at an alarmingly fast speed, and I had a feeling that he knew just exactly what Alice was planning.

"Alice," I complained, "Can we please not do this right now?"

She put on her best cheerful face and said, "Now is the perfect time for our chat, Bella. Jasper's riding with Emmett right now, and we have another good twenty hours of driving ahead of us!"

I sighed deeply, and rolled over in my seat so that I was facing the window, watching the barren highway flash by. I always thought Alaska was so empty because of the snow- but I was wrong. Alaska is deserted because it is so god-awful boring. And we weren't even halfway to where we were going… wherever that was. Why hadn't I thought of this before? Where _exactly_ were we going? I knew that we were going to stay in Alaska but it's a pretty huge place.

Partly to answer the questions now buzzing around my head, and partly to get Alice's mind of her interrogation, I decided to find out.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Bella?" she turned to me with a wide smirk. Obviously, she thought I was cracking under pressure. Wrong.

"Where are we going?"

Her face crumpled slightly, and the expression of expectation turned to one of uncertainty.

"We're going to Denali. It's best for us to stay there until we find something more permanent. Plus, they're good friends of ours."

I knew that they were vegetarians like the Cullens, but I was still pretty nervous. 

"Don't worry Bella, they'll like you."

Sensing that I was not convinced, she tapped her temple and said, "I would know, after all."

Feeling slightly better, I began to ask questions about the Clan. 

"How many people are in the clan?"

"There are five. Eleazar, Tanya, Irina, Kate, and Carmen."

I flinched slightly as Alice mentioned Tanya, but I didn't think she noticed.

"What are they like? Do they have any, um, talents, like you and Edward?"

Alice thought for a moment. "Not all of them. But Eleazar, Kate, and Carmen do, yes. Kate has the gift of influence. It's similar to what Jasper does, really, but more powerful. You know Jasper can control your emotions, of course, but Kate's power goes one step further. She can influence your behavior. It's not like mind control, really, more like… persuasion."

"I don't understand. If it's not like control, then how does she get you to do what she wants?"

"Hmm… let's use an example, shall we?" Alice smirked, looking devious. "For instance, if she wanted you to talk to me about something, all she would have to do would be to plant the idea in your mind. You wouldn't even notice that Kate was doing anything. Suddenly, you would feel the urge to confide in me, and pretty soon you'd be babbling. All the time, you'd be certain that it was your own idea to talk."

Alice must have noticed how worried I looked, because she laughed. "Don't worry, Bella, Kate doesn't use her power. Anyway, I doubt it would work on you. You do seem to be the exception."

I felt better. The last thing I needed was for Kate to do her friend Alice any favors.

"What about the others? Eleazar and Carmen?"

"Eleazar's power is very subtle. It is more of an… extraordinarily strong inclination that a power. Eleazar has the gift of wisdom."

"Oh. So he is always right?"

Alice shook her head, causing her choppy black hair to swirl around her. "No, it is even more subtle than that. Eleazar can make a wrong decision; it is just that he is much less _likely_ too. He doesn't have the answer all the time, but he can usually sense the best course of action."

"And what can Carmen do?"

Alice grimaced. "It sounds fairly simple, but she's quite powerful. Carmen can see the truth."

"What do you mean, she can see the truth?"

"I mean that Carmen can see through lies, disguises, rouses, excuses… it can be quite annoying."

I chuckled to myself. I would have to ask Edward later about just what exactly Carmen had caught Alice fibbing about.

"So that's all?"

Alice fiddled with the radio. "Yes. The others don't have powers."

"What are they like?"

"They're all quite pleasant, really. We stay there for a couple of weeks at a time usually. It's nice to be able to interact with other vampires that are 'vegetarians'. As you have seen, our lifestyle is not appreciated by most."

Abruptly, Alice whipped around to face me. She didn't even bother to look at the road. "But stop trying to change the subject, Bella." 

I groaned. "Alice, I do not want to talk about this with you."

"Oh, be fair. We're sisters now, you know."

I patted her shoulder. "Yes, Alice, and I'm glad. But I am not going to discuss this."

"Well, just give me the general idea. You can at least do that, Bella. For your _sister._"

"If I tell you that will you stop mentioning it?"

"Oh fine," she huffed. I knew that she didn't mean it, but I decided to tell her anyway.

"It was good," I said. 

"Bella!" Alice whined, "Not that general! How do you feel? What do you think?"

I turned red immediately. "I think that it was good, Alice."

Alice's dainty little lips pulled back slightly over her teeth. "Stop being difficult." 

"What Alice? I told you. It was good. I thought it was good."

"Was he gentle? Was it very hard for him to stay in control?"

I flushed scarlet. I had never been so uncomfortable before. And that was saying something- I embarrassed myself all the time. Where was Edward? I was sure he was listening in; why didn't he come rescue me?

"Yes, Alice, he was nice. And now, this talk is over. He's your brother for crying out loud. Why do you want to hear this?"

She sighed deeply. My normal sense of privacy was clearly a thorn in her side. I looked out the window, and sure enough, Edward's silver Volvo was right behind us. I had a feeling Edward was not happy with Alice. I must have fallen asleep while thinking about my…husband, because when I woke up again, I was in a different car.

"Morning, beautiful."

I yawned. "You saved me," I murmured, my voice still thick with sleep. 

"Sorry about that. You know Alice." Edward looked mad for a moment, but then his lips started to twitch.

"What? I don't see what's so funny about Alice. She doesn't look scary, but she is."

Edward started to grin in earnest now. "So it was just good, was it?"

I turned pink, but rolled my eyes at him. "Edward."

He foisted an innocent look onto his smirking face. "What? You didn't think it was just good last-"

"Edward!"

He laughed, long and loud. "We're almost there, Bella." Edward reached over to touch my cheek. "Don't worry. They will like you."

But that was only part of the reason I was nervous. "Even…Tanya?"

Edward's gold eyes got a shade darker, but he reassured me. "Tanya knows that we are just friends, Bella. And you will be her friend, too. That was a long time ago."

I nodded. "Okay." 

After that, the rest of the ride was cheerful and pleasant. It was nice to just talk with Edward, especially after everything that was going on. Eventually, I remembered what I wanted to ask Edward.

"Edward, did Carmen catch Alice lying about something?"

He chuckled, "I had almost forgotten about that. Yes, but it was a long time ago."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"Well, nothing too major. It was just a little white lie really- but Carmen can even see through those. Alice told Carmen that she liked her outfit. Alice meant to be polite, but Carmen knew the truth. Carmen's feelings weren't really hurt, but Alice was mortified. It still bothers her." Edward sighed. "Sometimes it's hard for us, Carmen and I, knowing the truth."

I sympathized completely. To never have a moment's peace in your own head? I would never be able to handle it. 

Suddenly, the Volvo pulled to a stop. I looked around, but didn't see anything except for green trees all around. In the distance, I could make out the snow capped peaks of Alaska.

"What are we doing?" I asked Edward. 

"We're here," he said, "We just have to run a ways."

"Oh."

One by one, the others pulled up and parked their cars around us. Alice grabbed her many bags and kissed her Porsche after lovingly nestling it between two pine trees. Jasper laughed at her and grabbed her hand. Emmett and Rosalie were gathering their luggage, too, but it seemed that Emmett was carrying two of his own suitcases as well as six of Rosalie's. Carlisle and Esme were the last to arrive, being the least reckless of the drivers in the Cullen family. 

As soon as everyone was ready, I climbed up on Edward's back. The trees flashed by at their usual break-neck speeds, but I looked at them calmly. It had been a while since this scared me. I actually found myself looking forward to being able to run this fast; hopefully I would lose my clumsiness. _Although_, I thought darkly, _it would be just my luck to be the first klutzy vampire in history._

In just a couple of minutes, though it was probably seven or eight miles, we halted in front of one of the most picturesque places I'd ever seen. The house was gigantic, but still done in the style of a cozy log cabin. Pine trees and a stream flanked either side of the home. In the winter it would look just like a postcard.

"Wow," I breathed. 

Edward took my hand after I dismounted from his back. Looking up, I saw what must be The Denali Clan coming out the front door.

"Carlisle," called a tall, dark man with black hair waving down to his shoulders. "It has been too long, as always." Carlisle and the man I knew to be Eleazar embraced each other. I remembered what Alice said about how wise he was. I believed her; Eleazar's tawny eyes radiated wisdom and knowledge. 

The next out of the house was Carmen, who stuck closely by Eleazar. I assumed that they were together from the tender way she looked at him. Carmen also had black hair and dark skin like Eleazar- or as dark as a vampire's skin could be - and they looked distinctly Spanish. Carmen greeted everyone politely, and I felt comfortable around her.

When I glanced towards the rest of the party coming out of the house, my jaw dropped. My mouth literally opened in shock at the sight of the last three Denali sisters. Kate, Irina, and Tanya were the loveliest creatures I had ever seen. Even among vampires, their beauty was astounding. All three had blonde hair- but only one was strawberry blonde. And, of course, she was the most astoundingly attractive of the three. Rosalie was gorgeous, but these three women exuded sexuality. Their long hair seemed to shine with blinding intensity, their curvy bodies moved with incredible sensuality, and their features were made even more extraordinary by three pairs of full, luscious lips. I found it difficult to look away; it was like staring into the sun and being momentarily blinded.

When they said hello to The Cullens, even their voices sounded alluring. I noticed Tanya looking curiously in my direction, but she smiled at me in a pleasant way. I was still too stunned to speak. I could only nod my head at Kate, Tanya and Irina. It was probably for the best because my voice would have trembled and I would have looked even more pathetic by comparison. I was, frankly, astounded that Edward had turned down Tanya. I was sure that he was the first- and would certainly be the last- to do so.

I was still dazzled as we walked into the house. Immediately, everyone began to make themselves at home. The Cullens were here so frequently that they knew which guest rooms to stay in.

"Would you like a tour, Bella?" Edward asked, after asking for Irina's permission. She graciously agreed, apologizing for not thinking of it herself.

Edward led me around the colossal house, pointing out the living room and family room. I was shocked to notice that there was no kitchen and then immediately felt stupid for assuming that there would be. I was just so used to The Cullens' old house. I also felt relieved that vampires needed to bathe- because otherwise there might not have been a bathroom for me to use. 

After taking a quick peek into some of the bedrooms, which were all richly furnished, Edward showed me the room we would be staying in. I had to smile- the room was done in midnight blue with gold accents. The large bed was draped with a plush looking duvet and piled with gold pillows. I wondered if Edward had decorated it himself. 

Edward seemed to be aware that I was off in my own head again, because he was unpacking our stuff when I came out of my stupor.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you tell me how beautiful Tanya is?"

Edward sighed and sat down on the bed next to me. "Bella, I didn't mention it because you are the most beautiful thing in my world. To some men, yes, Tanya might be irresistible, but you are the only woman who has ever captivated me."

I tried hard to scowl at Edward. He was being charming again, and it wasn't fair. It was too hard to resist his velvet voice.

"Is- are they- why are they so gorgeous?"

"Have you ever heard of the myth of The Succubus?"

I gasped, "Tanya, Irina, and Kate are Succubi?" 

"Yes, they are the three sisters in the legend. As humans, they were renowned beauties. They were said to, er, have a certain power over men. So much so that someone thought it would be worthwhile to change them."

I was astounded. I knew of course, that the three sisters were the most striking people I had ever seen; it was unsettling to think that they were literally the most beautiful people in the world. Tanya was even slightly more stunning than her two sisters. And she had shown interest in Edward! 

Edward took my face in his hands. He kissed my lips lightly and whispered into them, "Bella, I promise that you are more beautiful to me than any Succubus could ever be."

He kissed me even more deeply to prove his point. Edward was too convincing for his own good, because I soon forgot all about Tanya as his lips moved with mine. 

As the sun began to dip behind the horizon, Edward and I went back out into the main room of the house to join the others.

"Bella," said Kate, the shortest of the Succubus sisters, "would you like anything to eat?"

I must have looked confused, because Irina laughed and added, "Edward brought food for you. We put it in a cooler. I'm sorry that we don't have a kitchen we can offer you."

"Oh! Well, thank you for thinking of me, but I'm fine." Kate and Irina really did seem kind. I wondered where the demonic part of the legend came in. I really hoped that it wasn't Tanya.

Carlisle interrupted my train of thought. "We were just discussing your change, Bella."

Immediately, Edward's forehead wrinkled and his eyebrows joined above his nose. He kept silent, but I could tell how stressed he was.

"Yes, Carlisle, I wanted to ask," interjected Eleazar, "When exactly does Alice see The Volturi coming?"

Alice spoke from her place on one of the white sofas. "Not for a couple of weeks. But it would be most prudent of us not to wait."

Rosalie's eyes narrowed, but Emmett squeezed her hand. Jasper must have tried to calm her down, because I could felt a sense of peace envelop the room.

Eleazar nodded. "I agree. That would be prudent." All the other vampires looked slightly relieved, and I recalled that Eleazar was exceptionally wise. His approval was very highly regarded. 

"Who will change her?" Tanya asked, speaking for the first time. Her voice was low and sultry. She could have been whispering words of seduction for all the sexuality that dripped from her them.

"I will." Edward's voice sounded stony and tense, but he did not argue or plead with me anymore. Tanya's eyes flickered to Edward once, and then to me before looking away.

Carmen turned to me, a maternal expression on her face. "When, Bella?"

"Tonight," I croaked. I was ready- but I was also terrified. I remembered only too sharply the feeling of fire in my veins.

I let my mind drift grimly for a few moments and when I came back to reality Esme and Carmen were discussing where to do the actual change. Edward thought it would be best to use our bedroom, and the others agreed. Edward would be able to stay with me in there. I didn't want him to see me like that, but I was too cowardly to keep him away from me; I would need him.

I felt dazed. In three days, I would be a vampire. My heart would stop, my eyes would change color, and I would never be human again. I would stay that way for eternity. 

I sat in the family room with everyone for a while, not really taking in what was passing around me. The Denali Clan and my family were talking and reminiscing, but Edward and I stayed silent, each wrapped up in our own thoughts. Every few minutes, Edward would lift our entwined hands to his lips and kiss mine softly. I couldn't tell you how long we stayed there, but it felt like only a few moments.

Before everyone went upstairs to unpack and get settled, they came to say goodnight. Well, really they were saying goodbye- pretty soon I would be a different person. Alice danced to my side and kissed my cheek, as did Esme. Rosalie waved sadly before heading upstairs. She wasn't trying to stop me anymore, but she still thought I was making the wrong choice. Carlisle and Emmett hugged me briefly, but Jasper hung back. He gave me a small smile, and I thought about how pretty soon Jasper wouldn't need to avoid me. That was a bonus.

Time seemed to speed up, because all of a sudden it was very dark and must have been quite late. I was sitting on the bed, and Edward was talking to Carlisle so fast that their words sounded like a gentle hum.

"You will stay?" Edward was asking. "Carlisle, I- I can do it, but-"

Carlisle answered, putting a reassuring hand on his son's shoulder. "Yes, I will stay."

Edward turned his anguished eyes to me. He looked tortured and devastated. His worst nightmare was coming true.

He sat next to me and stared into my brown eyes for an immeasurable length of time, lightly caressing my face with one of his hands. Then he kissed my warm lips for the last time, taking in the way my pulse beat beneath the thin membrane of my skin. Finally, he let his head drop to my chest. I ran my fingers through his red-brown hair, trying to give him what comfort I could. This would be hell for him.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm memorizing," he answered me, "I'm memorizing your heartbeat."

My eyes filled with salty water. He was trying to commit my beating heart, warm blood, scent, eyes and _humanity_ to memory.

Gently, he lifted his head and wiped the tears from my cheeks. 

"I love you, Edward."

"I love you, Bella."

I don't know how long we stayed there like that, both of us drinking in my last few moments of mortality. 

Eventually, Carlisle cleared his throat. Edward took a long, shaky breath, and looked intensely into my eyes. 

"Bella," he began, "I will change you if you are sure. There's no going back, Bella. You can never get your humanity back once it is lost."

"I'm sure, Edward." My voice was shaky, but full of vindication. 

Edward nodded, and turned to Carlisle.

"You must bite her wrists, ankles, and neck, Edward. It will help the venom to spread as quickly as possible." Carlisle held up a syringe of morphine and I looked away from the long needle. "Then I will inject her with this. Hopefully, it will lessen the pain."

Edward closed his eyes for a moment before slowly pressing his lips to my neck. My heart sped up- I was terrified. This was what I wanted, but I was also afraid. In the next three days, I would be in terrible pain and then… and then I would die.

Edward inhaled, drinking in the perfume of my blood one last time. _La Tua Cantante_ _no more_, I thought. 

His cold lips kissed the side of my neck once before I felt his razor sharp teeth graze my skin. I couldn't breathe. I gasped as my skin broke, and the fire began to rage. He bit me. 

**A/N: Yup, another cliffie. I know I told someone that I would post this yesterday- so sorry! But at least this is my longest chapter so far! Remember to review!**


	11. Jamie

A/N: I should have mentioned this last time: The Myth of the Succubus is actually Stephenie Meyer's idea (twilightlexicon

**A/N: I should have mentioned this last time: The Myth of the Succubus is actually Stephenie Meyer's idea () so all credit goes to her! I made up their powers, though. Also, some people are concerned Bella's power will be "cheesy". Don't worry, it's not totally random, and it fits her.**

**Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight **

JAMIE

Jacob's POV

Running through the dark forest, I caught a whiff of that sickly sweet scent. It burned my nostrils and forced my paws to move faster. _Oh God,_ I thought, _don't let me be too late._ I came to a strange clearing, where the smell was the strongest. A small figure with brown hair stood in the exact center of the meadow, facing away from me.

Please no…

"Jacob?" she asked, slowly turning to face me.

If I had been in my human form, I would have screamed. Instead, I howled in grief and rage. Her brown eyes were a vivid, crimson red. The normally fair skin had turned deathly pale, and I could feel the cold emanating from the lifeless stone. She was more beautiful and yet more terrible than what she should have been. Bella was dead.

"No!" I yelled, sitting straight up in bed. I took a few deep breaths, trying to remind myself that it was a nightmare. A meaningless nightmare. Though deep down, I knew that it wasn't; Bella might even now be one of them.

_Don't think that_, I told myself, repeating it like a mantra. I glanced at the clock; it read 2:35am. Great- there was no way I was getting any more sleep tonight.

I tried to avoid thinking about Bella, so I occupied myself with the only other subject that could hold my interest- the girl. I still did not know her name, but I couldn't stop thinking about her if I tried. And I had tried to forget about her, but I couldn't. She was beautiful to me, but I also hated her in a way. In the way that I would die for her, because she was the reason my heart continued to beat- and I hated her for it. I hated _myself_ for it. I hated that I had no control over it. And yet… I needed to see her.

I made my decision quickly. I would just run around her house- just to make sure. Before I could think through what I was doing, I had phased and was heading towards Forks. Her uniquely exotic scent led me to her house easily- no one else in the world could smell like that.

Her house was an ordinary four-bedroom, two-story deal, painted a fading yellow. I noticed an ancient basketball hoop next to the driveway. I made a wide circle around the place a few times, telling myself that I needed to leave. I had done what I meant to do.

I paused in front of an open window on the west side of the house; her scent drifted lazily through it to perfume the air. It was fruity somehow, like oranges, but there were also traces of sand and salt and sandalwood…she smelled like summer.

Before I had time to think it through and argue with myself, I phased back and pulled on the sweats that were tied to my calf with a string. The window was open, and the jump would be easy. I landed lightly inside the room, quickly checking to make sure I hadn't been noticed.

She was sleeping, her chest rising and falling steadily. The twin bed was pushed into a corner. I had to fight a smile- her long legs had tangled up in the sheets and hung out the end of the too small bed. She looked…innocent. Sweet and beautiful, indescribably so.

_Stop it,_ I reprimanded myself, _it's not you talking. It's the stupid imprint. You love Bella. Bella._

I tore my eyes away from the sleeping girl. I focused on examining her room- who was she, anyway? I chuckled darkly- with my luck, I had imprinted on a socially retarded psychopath. So, there was nothing wrong with doing a little research, right? She had a big bookshelf, crammed with dozens and dozens of novels. I rolled my eyes; romance novels. Typical.

Her closet door stood open, so I took a surreptitious look. The clothes were plain, mostly just t-shirts and jeans, with a few dark sweatshirts thrown in. Her color of preference seemed to be blue. There was also the odd blouse or skirt, but it looked as if the girl dressed for comfort.

I looked at the white walls next. They had been mostly plastered in pictures, posters, ticket stubs, souvenirs, magazine clippings…it was a dizzying array. I studied the madness more closely and found several pictures of her laughing with friends, and a young girl who I assumed to be her sister. The posters were mostly of male musicians and movie stars- also typical.

I strolled silently over to the desk. There was the usual clutter of papers, pens, schoolwork, and various CDs. I moved closer to check out the names of the CDs, but tripped over something partially hidden beneath the desk: a grungy orange basketball. I stopped breathing and whipped my head around to make sure she was still sleeping. She continued to breathe slowly and deeply. Once more, I moved towards the desk, avoiding the ball. A note stuck out the top of her U.S. Government book. I picked it up, feeling slightly guilty, but unfolded it.

_Hey Girl,_

_I'm so excited for the concert. I can't believe you got tickets! Ugh I hate math- it's so boring! Anyways, did you hear about Maddie and Joel? Drama, much? I'll talk to you about it after school. See you later, Jamie!_

_XOXO,_

_Hayden_

Jamie. Her name was Jamie. It fit her- girly, not completely unheard of, but also memorable.

I halted my thoughts. What did it matter if she had a name? I shouldn't care- Jamie was not important to me, she was important to the werewolf in me. Besides, this note proved how childish and insipid she was, it proved she was just another ordinary human teenager.

_Human. _Jamie was human, and Bella was… _shut up!_ I commanded my brain. My hand trembled, and I carefully replaced the note, swallowing my anger. This girl- Jamie- should not have any power over me.

I didn't care about her- and I would prove it. I loved Bella, and Bella only. My werewolf side could imprint all it wanted. It didn't control me.

The next morning passed in a haze of tiredness. I didn't know why Sam still insisted on making us go to school. What was the point? If I had to be a werewolf for the rest of my torturously long life, surely I shouldn't have to go to high school, too?

"You look like hell, Jake," Paul commented as he sat down for lunch, carefully balancing six or seven slices of pizza and three bagels.

"You don't look so great yourself," I growled at him.

He smirked. "I was on patrol last night, I have an excuse to be tired. What's yours? More nightmares about your girlfr-"

"Shut up!" I roared, causing several lunch tables to look over.

"Cool it, Paul," Quil warned. Paul just snorted and shoved a slice of pizza into his mouth. Sometimes I really despised him.

I spent the rest of lunch in an annoyed silence. Jared, Quil, Embry and even little Seth shot worried looks my way the rest of the day. I wished they would stop; I didn't need their pity. Of course they knew all about the stupid imprint. They all kept telling me not to fight it- what did they know? Their imprints were fine. They didn't resent it. Well, I reminded myself, all except for one. Sam. He didn't resent the imprint exactly. Emily was the love of his life. But I knew, I would always know, the regret he feels about Leah. Sam hadn't wanted to imprint at first. Sam kept telling me that soon I would give in to it as he had. It was inevitable.

The thought made me pound my fist on the lunch table, drawing several more anxious glances. I was sick of it. I decided to skip the rest of the day. To hell with Sam.

I got in my old VW Rabbit and drove out of the student lot. The guys could walk home, for all I cared. Serves them right for treating me like some stupid, stubborn kid. I _would_ live my own life.

I drove through the empty streets of La Push, soon leaving them behind altogether. I had no idea where I was going, and was startled to see Forks High School flash by my window. I stepped on the gas; she was the last person I wanted to see right now.

Murphy's law: What can go wrong, will. And God, or Karma, was kicking my ass. Of course I saw her. Jamie was walking in the direction of her house with a shorter, blond girl. I tried to avert my eyes and ignore her, but I couldn't. Once again, my body reacted against my will. My foot eased off the gas, allowing my eyes to look at her properly. Her blonde friend noticed me and gave me a strange look. I probably looked like some creepy rapist, tailing girls on their way home from school.

The blond girl tapped Jamie on the shoulder, who turned around to look at me. I saw confusion, recognition, shock, and…happiness in her bluish eyes. Her full lips parted slightly in surprise, and she watched me expectantly. Why would she care about me? She wasn't supposed to know me! I hadn't anticipated that she would remember.

I snapped back to my senses and took off as fast as the car would go. The tires squealed against the pavement, and looking back in the mirror I saw Jamie. She looked hurt and bewildered.

I had to stifle the urge to run back to her and erase the sadness from her face- that was not my job. The only person I would ever care about was Bella. Curse this stupid, average girl for existing! For being in Forks! I hated what she had done to me. I hated her.

**A/N: Yes, a shorter chapter. Yes, the next one will be longer and from Bella's POV…you will get some answers. Oh and yes, I would love some reviews : **.


	12. Vampire

NEWBORN

**A/N: I'm leaving for vacation Sunday, so if there's no chapter 13 by then, there won't be until the next Sunday- ****earliest****. I think I will, though, so no worries. If there's wi-fi where I am, I promise to ****try**** and put up Chapter 14. Don't worry- I'm not abandoning this story. As always, thank you for your reviews! They make me smile and I really appreciate you taking the time to write them. **

**Disclaimer: Twilight Stephenie Meyer.**

VAMPIRE

My entire body was on fire. The inferno burned in my veins. My bones were shattering as though made of glass. Every heartbeat spread the venom further. With each pump I thought the pain had reached its peak; I was wrong. I couldn't see or hear anything, I lost track of reality completely. I had no conscious thought as I writhed and shrieked in the clutches of torture. I wanted to die- surely, death would be less cruel than this.

Time had no meaning; all I could feel was pain. I screamed for what might have been minutes or days, until I realized that I was no longer able to make any sounds- the screaming was all in my head. I slipped in and out of awareness, but the pain never lessened. Sometimes, I was cognizant of Edward. Each glimpse of his agonized face was like another knife to my poisoned heart. He held me on the bed, humming my lullaby between tearless sobs and broken apologies.

"…Morphine…didn't work…"

I could've told them that.

"Bella…sorry…what have I done?"

"…Alice..."

More pain and fire.

"So sorry…"

"…Carlisle…"

Still, the fire did not lessen, the pain did not dull.

"…Been three days…"

"Bella? Can you hear me?"

Three days? Shouldn't the pain be gone? Slowly, I tried to open my eyes. Perhaps the pain had gone; I couldn't tell anymore.

"Oh Bella!" cried a boy with brownish hair. I tried to blink but my eyes wouldn't focus.

"Mmm…" My voice was also broken.

"Shh… Bella, don't try and talk yet," came a deeper, calmer voice.

I wasn't going to try. I needed to close my eyes again.

"She's not ready yet, Edward," came the deep voice again. "Give it time."

Time. When was it? I began to wonder if I was still human. It had been three days, shouldn't I be a vampire by now? I tried to focus on my heartbeat. I couldn't feel it; maybe it was fading. Eventually, I decided to try and talk again.

"Edward?"

I heard a gasp. "Bella, I'm right here. How do you feel?" Soothing hands were now stroking my forehead. I wasn't sure if they were Edward's though; they weren't cold.

"I can't feel my heartbeat." This seemed important somehow. I had to know.

A small sob escaped Edward. "I know, Bella. You're a vampire."

Vampire.

I opened my new eyes for the first time. My vision was no longer blurry and out of focus; it was sharper than I'd ever thought possible. I could see every individual hair on top of Edward's head and he looked more gorgeous than ever. Before, I had thought he was handsome. But now that I could finally _see_ him…he was beauty made tangible.

I inhaled for the first time. Everything was so…potent. I could practically pick out individual scents. The wonderful perfume Edward always had naturally was still there, but less obvious, somehow. I breathed again. I could smell the trees surrounding the house, and even…my own scent? I sniffed again at my clothes. Edward was right; I smelled like freesia. Smelled. Past tense.

Still scanning the room with my new vision-,I had never noticed that so many shades existed within a single color, I sat up. It was still painful, but not, I realized, as painful as the last few days had been. It was painful to stretch my new muscles.

"Carlisle? Why do my muscles ache?"

"You've never used them before, Bella," he answered. Carlisle was hovering by the bed, examining me as though I were a patient.

Still flexing and stretching, I reached for Edward's hand and squeezed it. He winced.

"Sorry!"

"It's okay, Bella," he laughed. "I told you that you would be strong."

"You weren't kidding."

Edward's cheek lifted into one of his perfect, slanted smiles. I froze for a second. I waited for the blush, but it never came. I would have to get used to that.

"What?" Edward asked, noticing my reaction.

"You still dazzle me."

He grinned even more broadly and leaned to brush his lips against mine. Before they had felt cold and hard. Now, I thought them warm and soft. I grasped that it was because I was cold and hard now, too. And Edward's lips… being a vampire brought a whole new dimension to my sensitivity. I could detect every contour of his mouth as it brushed against mine, and every sensation was magnified so that it reverberated throughout my new body.

Just as I was marveling over the feeling of Edward and his lips, Alice ran into the room. If I was still human, her movements would have been blurred, but now I was able to easily follow her with my eyes.

"How do you feel?" she asked sympathetically.

"Okay."

"Are you thirsty?"

And then I felt the fire. I panicked, thinking that maybe the pain wasn't truly over. But then I comprehended…this was thirst. It physically scorched the back of my throat, made my stomach muscles contract with desire, and my mouth swim with venom. How had Edward done it? I would do anything, _anything_ to quench this thirst.

My eyes must have widened, because Carlisle answered for me. "Yes, I'm sure she is. We'll go hunting right away."

Hunting. That was one vampire experience I was not looking forward to. But if it meant extinguishing the fire, it would be worth it. I jumped up, still holding Edward's hand, and practically ran to the door and down the stairs.

Edward came with me, looking a little distressed. He had never wanted this. Emmett, Jasper, Esme and Rosalie were milling about downstairs. The others from the Denali coven must have already been out hunting.

"Hey Bella," Emmett called, "you didn't trip once on your way down the stairs."

I was about to frown at him for making fun of me, but I realized he was right. I grinned stupidly; my newfound coordination was definitely a bonus.

Jasper loped over to my side gracefully and wrapped his arms around me. I was shocked, which I was sure he could feel. Then I realized that Japer was finally able to do this, and I hugged him back. He didn't need to say anything.

Esme walked over to me and kissed my cheek. She took the hand that Edward wasn't holding on to and walked me over to the back door.

"We'll show you how," she told me.

"Don't be nervous," Jasper added, reading my emotions. "It will feel natural."

I looked up at Edward's gold eyes. I trusted him. We walked out the back door- dawn was just beginning to break in the horizon. A new day, a new life.

As I was thinking about the metaphors of dawn, I realized that we were running. Really running, like Edward did. He was right; this was truly effortless, and completely exhilarating. Suddenly, a powerful scent rolled over me. It smelled warm, alive, and…edible.

"What is that?" I asked Edward.

"That's a moose," he answered.

A moose? We got closer, and it appeared that Edward was right. A herd of four moose was grazing about three miles ahead- I could see them clearly from that distance.

When we reached the animals, Edward whispered into my ear. If I hadn't had newly improved hearing, it would have sounded like inaudible hissing.

"Watch Emmett, he'll go first."

I trained my eyes on Emmett. He moved slowly towards the moose, circling the pack. They didn't even notice him he was so stealthy. It appeared that Emmett had chosen one, because he crouched low. His muscles tightened in anticipation, and he sprang towards the animal. The moose barely had time to look up toward its hunter before Emmett's mouth clamped around its neck. The whole thing had lasted about two seconds.

I glanced at Edward uncertainly. Emmett made it look so easy- but how could I just drink from a creature that size?

The others went off to hunt for themselves, scattering in the wilderness. I guessed that not everyone enjoyed moose.

"Here," Edward offered, "let me help you."

Just as easily as Emmett had done, Edward caught another huge beast. He didn't bite into him though; he lay the now dead animal on the ground. I knew what I was supposed to do, but I was hesitant to do it. Edward nodded to me in encouragement. I felt filthy and disgusting, putting my mouth around the furry, brown neck of an animal. If I had been human, this definitely would have caused my head to spin.

My newly razor-sharp teeth broke the skin of the animal as easily as if it were butter. All thoughts of reluctance were forgotten when the warm liquid rushed into my mouth. It was not as good as the memories I had of human food, but it was the only thing that brought any relief from the powerful thirst.

We stayed out only a little longer. The blood from the enormous animal was not enough to satiate me, but I doubted that anything ever would. Edward told me that soon the aching in my throat and stomach would fade and I would grow used to the sensation.

Edward and I retreated back up into our bedroom. I was not tired, of course. It was odd to think that I never would be again. So many things had changed…which reminded me of something.

"What do I look like?" I asked nervously. I had not seen a mirror yet.

"You look like Bella," he assured me. "You're beautiful."

I smiled at his response, but I was not convinced. I walked over to the far wall where a mirror hung.

"Don't-" Edward began, but it was too late. I saw how my body was more angular, muscular in all the right places. My chest had filled out some, and my hips were curvier, my stomach perfectly flat. My features were flawless, any imperfections erased. Even my hair was thicker and more lustrous. But my eyes… they were a shocking, crimson red. They glinted evilly, like a demon from a comic book. I looked bloodthirsty…I looked like a vampire.

I stumbled back to the bed and into Edward's arms, dry heaves ripping from my chest. It was horrible. I hid my face in Edward's shoulder. I didn't want him to look at the monster I was.

"Shh…" he comforted. "They will fade."

"I look…Edward I look like a monster."

I felt him stiffen slightly beneath me. Now, I could read his reactions almost as easily as he used to read mine.

"I'm sorry, Edward. You know I didn't mean it like that. It's just that… I never want to hurt anybody. If my eyes are red, it means I'm a monster because I'm a murderer, not because I'm a vampire."

Edward hugged me closer to him. If he had done this three days ago, I would have been crushed.

"I know, Bella. And you could never be a monster. I won't allow it."

He rocked me for a while. "I'm sorry, Bella."

"For what?" I analyzed his expression. He looked melancholy and angry with himself.

"For doing this to you. It was selfish of me to take away your life."

Before he could continue to berate himself, I caught his jaw between my hands, careful not to use too much force.

"Listen to me, Edward. I don't regret this. I want to be with you forever, and this was my decision. How could it be selfish of you to give me what I want most? Now I get to be with you forever."

Edward looked slightly more cheerful, and the corners of his mouth lifted.

"I love you, you know," he told me.

"I love you, too. And nothing will ever change that," I answered him. "Vampire or not, I am yours forever."

We headed downstairs sometime later. Eleazar, Tanya, Irina, Kate and Carmen had returned, along with the rest of my family. There was a palpable tension in the air. I noticed that Alice was shaking her small head slightly, as if to unfreeze herself. Jasper was crouched beside her in a familiarly protective position.

"Alice," Edward asked, "what did you see?"

She bit her bottom lip in hesitation. Jasper looked at his brother reprovingly, not liking the commanding tone of his voice.

"Edward…I don't want you to worry."

"What, Alice?" he roared in frustration.

The others watched in silence. I felt so bad for Alice. If she wanted to keep something to herself, she should be able to. Edward was going to hear it from her one way or the other- it was inevitable.

"What are you doing?" Edward asked Alice suddenly, a new edge in his voice.

Alice looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"How are you doing that? Thinking of nothing?"

Now everyone looked bewildered. Carlisle spoke first. "That's not possible…"

Edward was frustrated and everyone else was dumbfounded. Obviously, this had never happened before.

"I don't understand," Edward said. "I can hear everyone else as usual…but Alice's mind is blank. I can't hear anything. This has never happened before."

Rosalie interrupted. "This has happened before, Edward."

There was a moment of confusion, and then eleven sets of gold eyes darted to my face.

"Bella?"

**A/N: What do you think? I'm sort of nervous about this chapter. Also, somebody asked me if this is turning into a Jacob story… the answer is no. Yes, Jake is involved, but this story still focuses on Bella. I am thinking of doing a Jacob-Jamie story after this is done, but I promise that Bella and Edward will get the spotlight in this story. **


	13. Bella?

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I just borrow them.**

BELLA?

"Bella?"

I was still thinking about how sorry I was for Alice. If she wanted her privacy, she should be able to have it. Wait, what? Why were they looking at me?

"What?"

"Bella are you… what are you doing?" Edward asked. He sounded uncertain. "I can't hear Alice anymore."

"I'm not doing anything."

Why on earth couldn't he hear Alice? Nothing had ever stumped him before…oh wait, except for me.

"I can hear Alice now," he said, looking at her. "You're thinking about Bella's future, correct? But you're too confused to see clearly?"

Alice pursed her lips and nodded in assent. I thought I saw a flicker of annoyance beneath her stressed expression. She was either bothered by her cloudy vision or the fact that Edward was rifling through her mind.

It was Eleazar who spoke after a full minute of silence. "Bella, it would seem that there is the possibility that Edward's, ah, difficulty could be connected to you. You have, after all, been the only person that he couldn't hear."

"What do you mean, it could be connected to me?"

I felt Jasper attempt to calm me down. He was trying to help- I was starting to panic. Eleazar and everybody were staring at me, even Edward looked nervous.

"Bella, when Edward was talking to Alice, what were you feeling? What were you thinking?" Eleazar asked his questions like a seasoned counselor.

I glanced guiltily at Edward. If I could have blushed, now would have been the time to do so.

"I was feeling… sorry for Alice because she couldn't keep her thoughts private."

Edward's eyes crinkled a little at the corners with humor. He squeezed my hand with his. I was still getting used to how it no longer chilled me.

"What were you thinking of, specifically?" Carmen asked, nodding towards Alice in reference.

I looked at Edward guiltily once again. "I was thinking that Alice should be able to keep her secret." Then I added, "Though I wish she would tell us," before Alice could use my pity against me, and keep the secret forever.

Edward still didn't look mad. I leaned into him slightly, allowing him to stroke my back soothingly. I was just as thrown-off as he was.

There were a few more minutes of silence. Jasper was still trying to calm my anxiety; Carlisle was appraising me in a speculative way; Esme and Alice looked both worried and confused; the entire Denali Coven looked interested; Emmett was ecstatic. He would definitely enjoy rubbing Edward's face in whatever was going on. Rosalie appeared…apathetic. Well, at least that was better than looking annoyed by me.

Carlisle sat down on one of the sofas next to Esme. "Bella, do you remember what Edward told you about his power? Or my theory about it?"

"Ye-" I started to reply, but I couldn't finish- because I _didn't._ Oh My God, I did not remember. I remembered that Edward _had_ explained it to me, and Carlisle had definitely had a theory…

Carlisle nodded understandingly. "It's okay, Bella. It was a while ago, and it's not an important memory."

I tried very hard to focus on what Carlisle said next. It was hard; if I couldn't remember that, what else had I forgotten?

"Bella, we believe that when someone with a talent in their mortal life becomes a vampire, this talent is magnified, if you will. For example, Edward here," Carlisle said, nodding at Edward, "was very perceptive to the thoughts of others. Alice had sporadic visions of the future, and Jasper was sensitive to emotions."

"Now that we are vampires, our talents have progressed into actual 'powers'," Alice chimed in, scratching air quotes around the word _powers _with her small white fingers.

Whoa, whoa, what were they implying? "What are you saying?"

"Bella," Edward said softly, "We think that maybe…since you had the ability to protect your mind from others before the change, that ability has intensified."

Alice nodded. "Yes, and maybe it has intensified by expanding, if you know what I mean."

I definitely did not. Jasper perceived my confusion easily and explained. "When you felt like you wanted to help Alice, ah, it seems you shared your talent with her."

"And your human trait of extraordinary compassion has been strengthened, too, just like Carlisle. You're always trying to put others before yourself. It was only natural for you to want to help Alice." Edward smiled slightly, clearly still a little exasperated at my foolish tendencies.

"So you're saying…"

Carlisle put it bluntly. "We think you have the ability to protect others, Bella."

Wow. I had… a power? Aro was right. But I had no control over it.

Emmett interrupted my moment of revelation with one long, low, appreciative whistle. "Sweet!" he yelled, reaching his fist out towards me so I could bump it. I rolled my eyes and ignored him.

"But I don't even know what I did," I began. "How do I control whatever this is?"

Eleazar had the answer. "It takes experience. It took Carmen years of practice, but it will strengthen over time."

Great. Now I just had to hang in there for a few decades, or maybe even centuries.

Edward and Alice kept me practicing for the rest of the day, and into the night.

"Alice," I groaned, "I am trying to feel sympathy for you, but it's hard when you're torturing me!"

We had spent the last several hours attempting to recreate the scene from this morning.

Edward kissed my temple lightly. The tension there seemed to melt at his touch.

"Let's take a break," he suggested. "I want to talk to Alice anyways."

I knew that I would regret letting him go later, but I was too worn out to care. I would probably find out what it was about tomorrow. I would have loved to go to sleep, but that was impossible. I settled instead for closing my eyes and reclining on the couch.

When the door creaked open softly some minutes later, my new hearing picked up on it right away. I could even tell that it wasn't Edward or Alice; they made a certain sound when they walked, and their sizes corresponded to different volumes in their step.

I cracked open an eyelid, raising my neck slightly to look at the door. A tall, leggy, curvy, strawberry blond woman stood just inside of it.

"Tanya?"

I had no idea what she was doing here, but I couldn't wonder for too long; her beauty dumbfounded me. If I thought that being a vampire would lessen the shock of the Succubus sisters, I was wrong; it actually hurt to look at her.

"Hi," she almost whispered, closing the door softly behind her as she took a seat on the couch across from me. I waited for her to say something more about why she was here, but she just sat there. I looked away self-consciously; how could I ever be as beautiful as Tanya was?

"I just wanted to talk with you, Bella. Alice told me that you know about my feelings for Edward." She said all of this matter-of-factly, not like she was discussing somebody else's husband at all. And she did not use the past tense.

She continued. "There's nothing for you to worry about, Bella, Edward was never interested." Was that a twinge of bitterness?

I still did not reply. I had not missed the fact that she only said Edward wasn't interested, not that she wasn't interested.

Carmen opened the door then, right as I was opening my mouth to say something to Tanya. It was lucky that she did, because 'stay away from my husband if you know what's good for you', probably would not have gone over too well.

"Oh!" Carmen said awkwardly when she observed the tense scene. "Is something going on?"

"No," we both said at the same moment. Carmen's eyes narrowed; she had not missed the lie, but she didn't press for details.

"Bella, Edward was thinking that maybe you could try with Kate, instead of just on Edward's power."

I cringed. They wouldn't give it a rest. Sure, Eleazar said it would take practice, but I had millennia to practice.

"Hi, Bella," Kate said breezily, strolling into the living room. Of all the sisters, she was the most laid back.

I pouted and looked at Edward, who had just walked into the room. "Do I have to?"

He just laughed at kissed my bottom lip, which was probably sticking out a good inch from my face. "Just try it, love."

"Humph." I grumbled.

"Okay Bella, first I'm going to try and make you do something, okay? Just to make sure that you are immune to my power," Kate explained.

I nodded. I waited for a minute, but apparently she wasn't able to convince me to do anything- I didn't have any desire to even get off the couch.

"Huh," Kate muttered. "Well, I guess that this is good." She didn't look like she believed it. Kate, like so many others, was annoyed that I was their exception. I tried very hard not to think of Jane- and failed miserably. Luckily, I was able to cover my flinch.

"This seems to work best if Bella is feeling protective towards the person," Edward told Kate. "So I think you should force me to do something."

Edward then turned and murmured into my ear. "I hope you rescue me." He chuckled and walked into the middle of the room.

Kate stared at him for a moment with a look of deep concentration. It took only eleven seconds for Edward to start behaving oddly. His eyes glazed over and his jaw slackened slightly; he almost looked intoxicated. Edward then proceeded to sing the ABC's. He really could do anything- his voice sounded amazing.

Kate sighed and glared at me when I started to giggle. "Sorry," I told her, "I think this is funny."

"Kate," Tanya said, speaking from her place on the couch for the first time, "you need to make Bella feel like the person she loves is threatened."

Kate nodded seriously and seemed to think for a moment. My eyes widened when Edward started to walk over to Tanya.

"What are you doing?" I asked, trying to control the panic in my voice.

She did not reply. Instead, Edward sat down next to Tanya and put his arm around her. I couldn't control myself; I jumped up from my seat.

"Stop it!" I yelled at Kate. Her brow furrowed but she ignored me.

The glassy-eyed Edward put his face into Tanya's strawberry blond hair and I thought I was about to lose it. Tanya didn't look uncomfortable at all. I thought I detected a hint of a smirk on her perfect lips. Damn Tanya! Damn Kate! Damn me for not being able to stop this! Tanya shouldn't be touching my husband. I tried very hard to focus myself, and to ignore how Edward was now inhaling the scent of Tanya's hair. _I need to protect Edward_, I chanted over and over in my head. After about twenty seconds of this, something seemed to change. Edward's eyes came into focus and he blinked rapidly before practically leaping away from Tanya.

"Kate!" he almost shrieked. "What were you doing?"

Kate disregarded him and turned to me, grinning jubilantly. "You did it! I lost my grip on his mind!"

How dare she think I would be happy that I had barely been able to stop my husband from groping another woman right in front of me? I turned on my heel and stormed out of the room. At least Edward had the sense to follow me and get away from Tanya.

"Bella?" he said, sounding nervous. "I'm sorry."

I inhaled deeply and stopped walking. I looked into his ocher eyes and my anger melted; his love for me was so profound on his face. "I'm not angry with you. It's not _your_ fault." I wasn't sure that I could ever forgive Kate.

Edward embraced me briefly before bringing his lips to mine. I was still getting used to being a vampire, and that included how things had changed with Edward. He didn't have to careful all the time, and he was so much _freer_ around me. When I was human, I thought that he had been really kissing me, but now… there was a new level of passion and excitement. Before our kisses had been icy and brief, now they were endless fire. It was probably a good thing that I no longer needed to breathe; otherwise I would've suffocated- it was difficult to tear myself away from him. Invincible as I was, he made me weak in the knees.

We strolled toward the front of the house, hand in hand. The landscape of Alaska really was scenic. The dark green trees contrasted majestically with snow-capped mountains and the stars here were so bright. Edward's exquisiteness only added to the scenery. I really loved being married; we could be like this forever, we never had to be apart.

"What are you thinking?" he asked. "I'll never get over not knowing."

I laughed and pecked him on the cheek. "I'm thinking that I love being Mrs. Edward Cullen."

He grinned hugely. "Good," he said, and then kissed me fiercely. His mouth moved against mine in an unbelievably sensual way, yet the kiss was still rough, desperate almost. We needed nothing but each other. His hands snaked up my back, and I explored him just as fervently. His breath was uneven, fanning across my neck as he trailed kisses along my collar bone. Fire erupted in the pit of my stomach, but not like the thirst I had endured the past couple of days. This was only fueled by desire.

"Hem, hem" someone pretended to cough behind us. Unwillingly, I broke away from Edward.

"Hi, Alice," I rolled my eyes at the tiny girl in front of me. She grinned mischievously and giggled.

"Hello, having a pleasant evening?"

"We were," Edward retorted.

I laughed and poked his shoulder playfully. Clearly, Alice needed something. "What is it, Alice?"

Her small mouth opened to speak, but Edward cut across her. "This isn't the best time."

I stepped back from his arms and looked back and forth between the two of them. It seemed like I was going to find out what the secret was.

"Tell me," I commanded. Edward's eyes flashed, but I just glared at him determinedly. "There are some things you can't protect me from, Edward."

He fell silent and stopped protesting. I allowed him to wrap his arms around me once more and I put my head against his silent chest.

"I know," he whispered, sounding tortured.

I looked at Alice, raising my eyebrow to signal her to begin. She cleared her throat nervously.

"They're coming."

**A/N: Like I said last time, I'm leaving for vacation. I won't be able to post, but I will write the next chapter. Look for it next Sunday. It's a long time I know, but I think it will be worth it. Oh, and I realize that I do cliffhangers too much. Sorry if it's annoying you, but it's what I do. **

**Well… what do you think of Bella's power? If I do say so myself, I think it fits her perfectly: she wants nothing more than to protect the ones she loves, and now she can! Plus, I think it's sort of cute that she can negate Edward's power (opposites attract?). **

**You guys are all so nice! Your wonderful reviews literally make my day. Thanks so much for writing them!**


	14. Doomed

**Disclaimer: Twilight is Stephenie Meyer's. **

**A/N: I had this ready to go for Sunday, but my Internet broke. It's been spotty for a while, so when it happens I just have to wait. Sorry about that!**

DOOMED

"They're coming."

"The Volturi?" I asked. Alice confirmed my fear and I took a deep breath, shutting my eyes. I was ready for this. "We knew that already. I'm a vampire, they can't do anything to me."

Edward's arm tightened around me and he said nothing. I opened my eyes to see Alice chewing her bottom lip nervously.

"Bella, I saw something more."

I waited for her to continue. Whatever it was, she was going to have to say it. What else could be worse than them coming?

"Bella," Alice started timidly, "do you remember when we went to Volterra and met Aro?"

"Of course I remember." Some memories had faded completely, but I would always have that memory of terror.

"When Aro touched my hand, he saw everything." Alice spoke slowly, like I was made of glass. Like I was still human.

I still didn't get it. I looked up at Edward blankly. "Why does this matter now?"

Edward sighed and said, "Alice knew about the wolves. When Aro touched Alice's hand, he saw everything that she knew. Before that, I knew only that the treaty was still in effect. When he gained Alice's memories, he learned something more; their numbers were growing."

Alice had been there; I had told her Jake was a new werewolf. She had even seen him for herself. "What does that mean?"

"The Volturi have decided that the werewolves are a menace, Bella."

My mind was still stuck. Like a jammed gear, I couldn't make it click. It had to be something else; they couldn't be saying what I thought they were.

"So…"

"So they're planning on eliminating the wolves."

If I could have fainted I would have. I was desperate for the relief of unconsciousness. Still, though, Alice did not tell me what we were going to do. She just stood there like a doomed messenger.

"There's more," I said, making a statement, not asking a question.

Edward let out the breath that he must have been holding for a while. "Do you remember earlier this summer when Jane was here?"

I replied in the affirmative again, exasperated. Her evil red eyes were burned into my brain.

"At that time, I saw in her head that The Volturi viewed us as a threat. They purposefully let the situation in Seattle continue for longer than it should have, hoping that Carlisle's family would be diminished.

"Aro is threatened by us; he is jealous of what Carlisle has built. Carlisle defied his beliefs about the nature of a vampire, and proved him wrong. He can't stand it. "

"Are you trying to say…" I even spoke slowly. Anything to prolong the last of the free, happy moments. Subconsciously, I was trying to forestall the feeling of doom that was sure to engulf me with Edward's next words.

Edward met my terrified eyes. "They're coming for us, too."

I went numb. I couldn't achieve unconsciousness anymore, but I could stop feeling. My mind refused to work. How could Edward have kept this from me? Damn protecting me- this was serious. We didn't stand a chance.

"Bella?" Edward asked anxiously. I just remained still and immobile.

"Alice!" Edward's voice carried the all-too familiar edge of anxiety and concern for me. "We should have waited to tell her."

That snapped me out of my trance. "Edward Cullen," I yelled, "I've told you before: You. Can. Not. Protect. Me. From. Everything." I annunciated each word so that it was its own sentence. He needed to understand. This was the reason I became a vampire in the first place- so I could stop being his Lois Lane. I wanted to be Superman, too.

"What do we do?" I asked once I had stopped fuming at Edward. I was still taking deep breaths. Physically, it might be pointless. But emotionally, it was keeping me from hysteria.

By this point, every vampire in the house had gathered around us. We'd been easily overheard. And it transpired that I had been the only one left out of the loop.

"We need to decided how to proceed." Carlisle's smooth voice sounded to my right. He appeared in control of the situation, but somehow still scared. It was unsettling to see unshakeable Carlisle show fear. Even Jasper couldn't calm the sea of emotions.

Looking around at the members of my family, I felt nauseated. The sense of déjà vu was overwhelming; it was three months ago, and we were having the same conversation about a different group of vampires. The only difference was that, this time, we couldn't survive.

Every single face was drawn, tense. Even Emmett didn't have anything to say. It took only a moment for his grin to return, though. "I say we fight."

His statement was met by complete silence. Fight the Volturi? They would destroy us easily. Rosalie turned on her heel, looking livid. "How are we going to do that? We should ask for their mercy. It's our only chance."

Alice's small voice came from somewhere in Jasper's long arms, which were clinging to her protectively. "There is no hope of mercy. The decision has been made."

Edward shook his head, as if to clear it. His brow was creased in concentration. "Alice, did you see what will happen?"

The black-haired head shook from side to side. "I can't see the outcome, because our decision hasn't been made yet."

"Our decision has been made. Emmett is right- we will fight." Esme's usually sweet voice was severe. She looked at the faces of her children, daring them to challenge her. She would not lose her family without a fight.

Carlisle nodded, and put one arm around her shoulders, turning to address the group. "We cannot give up." He scrutinized the family he had built. A silent vote was being taken, and only one outcome was possible.

Rosalie nodded once, still glaring at Emmett. Emmett raised his fist in allegiance, already thinking about the fight. Jasper and Alice gave their concurrence in silent unison, meeting Carlisle's even gaze. Esme was in obvious agreement at his side, looking more shaken than I had ever seen her. Edward moved his worried, butterscotch eyes from my face, looked at Carlisle, and inclined his head very slightly. I did the same, following his lead; I would not lose Edward. If this was the only way to save us, then I would do it.

The Denali coven had faded into the background, observing the strained scene quietly, not wanting to intrude on our family, but unsure of what to do.

Whether by Jasper's doing or not, the atmosphere became even and steady. In facing the inevitable, the grouping of vampires did not speak. Each was staring into the eyes of their true love, worried for the other. The Cullen family was strong, but would it be strong enough?

"I still can't see the outcome."

Edward whirled around to stare at the baffled Alice. "What do you mean? We've made our decision."

Alice seemed to be coming back to herself, because she snapped at him. "Don't blame me, Edward Cullen!" She looked at me meaningfully.

"I'm not doing anything," I insisted, throwing up my hands in innocence. I really wasn't- I was still too numb to feel anything. "Alice, I can't stop your visions. You know that."

"Then why…" Jasper's arm still enclosed the small, black-haired figure, which was biting her lip with frustration, eyes clenched in anticipation. Alice tried to force a vision to come to her, but it was in vain.

Edward chimed in, defending me. "Bella isn't the only one who might be able to stop your visions."

Alice's eyes flew open. She looked insulted and jabbed one slender finger at Edward. "Explain."

"You can't see the wolves, either."

"So?"

"What if our decision leads to them?" Edward looked at me for a moment, worried for my reaction. "If our fate is tied to the werewolves, you wouldn't be able to see the outcome."

It was Rosalie's turn to be angry with Edward. "Are you saying that we have to do this _blind_? With _them?_"

Edward pulled me closer to his chest, and I pressed my forehead there, already knowing the answer.

"Yes."

Edward and I retreated to our room, needing the comfort only the other could bring. He steered me carefully to the bed, clasping my hands with his.

"Are you okay?" Even though I didn't need him to anymore, he would always take care of me.

"Edward, I'm… I'm so sorry." I had brought this upon the entire family. If it weren't for my existence, he would never have gone to Volterra. Victoria would never have built an army; Jane would never have told Aro about the Cullens' strength in fighting the newborns. Aro would never be coming here; he would never view us jealously. It was all my fault- again. I was an awful person, always bringing my bad luck with me, poisoning the people I loved.

"What do you have to be sorry for?" he asked, bewildered.

"This is all my fault. It's always my fault."

Edward moved from beside me and crouched down on the floor in front of me, peering up, forcing me to meet his gaze. He still held one of my hands tightly in his own.

"Look at me. This is not your fault; none of this has ever been your fault. _I_ am always the one putting you in danger, not the other way around. If anything, I'm sorry, Bella."

He's sorry? He regrets changing me?

"What's wrong?" Edward could always see when something was bothering me. My latest disturbing thought must have been written across my face.

"Do you regret changing me?"

He exhaled sharply, blowing some of his bronze hair upward. "I regret putting you in danger. But I don't regret changing you- why would I?"

I didn't answer him. I looked away from his face.

"Bella?" His voice sounded uncertain. "Do you wish that I hadn't changed you? If so, then I'm sorry. It was impossibly selfish of me."

"Of course not. I want to be with you forever. But if…"

Edward moved from his kneeling position on the floor to stand, pulling me up with him, so that he could hold me.

"I want to be with you forever. I meant what I said when I gave you that ring." He brought my hand up to kiss the ring that had once belonged to his mother. "I'll always love you."

"But I'm different."

"You're still Bella. That will never change. I told you, you're the same, just a little more durable."

I laughed hollowly. That much was true- but I didn't have a beating heart. Hadn't he once called it the most significant sound in his world? And I didn't smell the same.

"I'm not the same person you fell in love with."

He held me closer. "No, you're not. But you're the person I love. There's a difference. People grow and change. I'm not the same person you fell in love with either- he was lonely and miserable. But now I'm complete, because I have you. You've made me a better person."

I smiled slightly, and he ran his smooth fingers over the curve of my lips.

"We will get through this," he told me, his voice burning with conviction. "And then we will start our lives together."

His lips brushed across mine once, twice, before shaping to them. I opened my mouth slightly, breathing in his scent. Even as a vampire, he smelled heavenly. I molded to his hard body and knotted my fingers in his hair to pull him closer. The taste was indescribable. The ever present burning in the back of my throat made me desperate for release, and right now he was my brand of heroine- just like I had been his. I bit his bottom lip lightly, tasting him there.

Like the calm before a storm, this moment was perfect. The sky had cleared for one last time, and the sun shone brilliantly, despite its impending doom. A tempest was coming, and we were made all the more desperate by that knowledge. It fueled us, driving us still closer. His lips made the familiar circuit from my ear to my jaw, lightly moving against the sensitive skin there. I responded as always- I trembled.

Edward pulled away and put his marble lips to my ear. "See? You're still Bella."

The soft bed was heaven, made so by Edward. I didn't sleep, but he hummed my lullaby for me anyways. It was peaceful, but I could still feel the apprehension that had settled upon us. The house had been permeated by it. I had no idea what Eleazar, Tanya, Kate, Carmen, and Irina were up to. In the past few hours they had all mysteriously vanished, leaving the Cullens to their misery.

I tried to keep my mind from going to those dark places- places where I wondered if we could possibly make it. I couldn't stand to see Edward perish- I would die. Thinking about it, now that it was a serious possibility, I could understand why he had gone to Volterra. Life without him would be impossible.

In that moment, I decided that I would never let anything happen to Edward. I had been given a gift, for whatever reason. Somehow, I was meant to save him. I was meant to save them all. This time, I knew that if I did die for them, it would not be in vain. I was more powerful than the third wife- I would not be the enemy's distraction. I would be its destruction. If I could block the powers of Edward and Kate, why not someone even more powerful? Someone more sinister? Two red eyes, glinting maliciously at another's torture, came to mind. I had promised myself a long time ago that I would never endure the sight of Edward writhing in pain again. The horror of my three-day transformation had been nothing compared to those few brief seconds.

Edward rolled up onto his elbows next to me, running his fingers through my long hair and stroking my forehead. "We have to leave. They'll go to Forks and La Push first, so that's where we'll be."

La Push. I took a visibly unsteady breath. The place where Jake had touched my heart still stung. I'd learned a long time ago that there was no such thing as a clean break, and thinking about the wolves was hard to do. Even harder was thinking about any harm coming to Jacob.

Edward saw my pain as easily as if he could read my mind. He rubbed my shoulder in comfort, and forgiveness. Comfort for the worry I was feeling about someone I cared for. Forgiveness for ever loving Jacob. "Will you be able to handle this?"

Would I be able to handle this? Would I sacrifice myself for the ones I loved? I solidified my new resolution with one look into Edward's deep, topaz eyes.

"I will."

Edward and I went down the stairs, still hand in hand. Any second not spent in contact with each other was too long. Something about fighting for your life made you want to make the most of every last moment. Alice and Jasper were on a loveseat, embracing one another. Emmett and Rosalie stood nearer to the door, holding hands like Edward and I. Carlisle and Esme stood sat on another couch, just soaking up the other's presence.

"Are you ready?" Carlisle addressed Edward, but Esme turned to me, silently asking the same question.

"Yes," Edward said. I nodded.

My family stood up and, as if on cue, the Denali clan to returned. Eleazar came into the room first, closely followed by Carmen, Kate, Irina, and Tanya.

I averted my eyes from Tanya and Kate, still upset about earlier. It didn't help that Tanya's blonde hair waved gently over her full breasts, marking her for everything I was not- shapely and devastatingly attractive.

Carlisle strode to Eleazar, clasping his hand. "Thank you for your hospitality. As you know, we cannot remain here, but your company has been greatly appreciated."

Esme voiced her agreement. "You are good friends of ours, and we will see each other soon."

I didn't need Carmen's power to catch Esme's lie. It was impossible for Esme to guarantee that we would see any of them soon- it was impossible for Esme to guarantee that we would even have the chance.

Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, Alice, and Edward all mumbled polite nothings to nobody in particular.

"Yeah, thanks."

"See you soon."

"We'll miss you."

I only bobbed my head like an idiot. Esme's false words were still ringing in my ears, making me feel sick.

Irina stopped the flow of pleasantries, holding up one perfectly feminine hand. "We have been discussing what to do. It's a hard decision to make. You are our good friends, but of course, The Volturi are formidable. And we do not know these werewolves. Why would you return to Forks? The Volturi will finish them first, and hopefully be weakened. After that, when they come, it might be easier to win."

My eyes flashed. She thought we should leave the wolves to their fate? Not warn them, not try and help them? "I know the werewolves. We will not just let The Volturi destroy them in the deluded hope that it might save us!"

My temper had flared at Irina's words, but Jasper was now projecting waves of serenity at me. I shot him a filthy look. My anger was not irrational- Irina was being heartless.

No one answered, and I started to feel embarrassed. Not for the words I'd said, but for the vicious way I had flung them at Irina.

"Bella is right," Carlisle asserted. "We have worked with them before. There is a chance that we can do it again. And they are not just wolves- they are people. We have to do what we can."

Eleazar nodded, and Irina did not respond. She still looked stung, but was now examining me curiously, clearly wondering why my tie to the werewolves was so much stronger than anyone else's.

A sweet, melodic voice filled the air. I didn't have to look to know who spoke- the most stunning woman in the room. "If Aro is jealous of your family, and angry that you live in spite of him, it is only a matter of time before he comes for us, yes?"

Carlisle didn't answer her. He couldn't honestly tell her what she wanted to hear.

"That's what I thought."

Eleazar stepped forward, and all eyes turned to him expectantly. What did Tanya mean, _that's what she thought_? It was true; the Volturi might eventually grow uncomfortable with those in Denali. Apparently, they were aware of this.

"We're going with you. It would only be a matter of time before The Volturi came after us, too." Eleazar's voice carried the wisdom of an earlier century. "Separately we will all perish. Together, we may prevail."

**A/N: Thank you for the positive reviews last chapter. California was great, I'm tan and that means I'm happy. Thanks for being patient for the past week; I hope it was worth it! Review with your thoughts. ;)**

**Also, I started to post chapters from something else I'm playing around with. Of course this story is still my numero uno, but I couldn't get out of Leah's head! Anyways, if you like this style, you might not like that as much. It's very different, and a different type of writing. It's really raw and well, it's Leah, so it's angry and full of angst. Try it and see what you think. It's called "Damaged". **


	15. Return to Forks

Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, this wouldn't be called Fan Fiction

**Disclaimer: If I owned Twilight, this wouldn't be called Fan Fiction.**

**Sorry for the errors I'm sure I have, more than usual. I just want to get his up and go to sleep.**

RETURN TO FORKS

The trip back to Forks was not a relaxing one. On the drive there, I had been filled with nervous anxiety for my upcoming transformation. Watching the same roads flash by at a breakneck speed, I felt a different kind of anxiety. Returning to Forks truly meant going to meet our fate. Perhaps our final destiny. If I were lucky, it wouldn't mean the end for all of us.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Edward asked for the fourth time in about nine hours.

"Nothing," I lied quickly. Other than the fact that an unstoppable enemy was closing in on us, I was just peachy.

"Please talk to me. I want to help."

I sighed heavily. "Edward, they're coming for us. Honestly, how do you expect me to feel?"

"That's not what I mean," he disagreed. "You're right, they're coming for _us._ Our family will stand together, and I would rather die than let anything happen to you."

I flinched at his words. Not if I had anything to say about it. "Bella, we need to be strong as a family, now more than ever. If you don't let me in, how am I supposed to be there for you?"

I deliberated for a moment, and chose to ask him the question that had been plaguing me almost from the moment I learned of the Volturi's imminent arrival. Edward's answer would be more of a confirmation than anything- I knew that I was right.

"The Volturi are coming here for all of us. But Jane… she's coming here for me, isn't she?"

He visibly blanched. Edward's handsome face screwed up against some emotion for a split second, then smoothed out. He seemed to be forcing himself to speak slowly and calmly. "What makes you say that?"

"Edward. She's held a grudge against me ever since the moment I defied her and her powers. I saw the look on her face, especially when Aro compared my 'potential' to the likes of her. Jane can't stand to have a rival. She is motivated by jealously and spite just as much as Aro is."

Edward became silent, closing his eyes. He pinched the bridge of his nose in an expression of stress that I had learned how to recognize. Still not glancing out the windshield, his gold eyes bored into my red ones. Despite having gone hunting, the human blood in my flesh was so much more potent than any animal's blood. The burgundy was turning a rusty shade from being tinted with yellow, but they were still distinctly red and demonic looking.

"Yes. But Bella, I swear to you, she will never lay a hand on you."

I grimaced again at his self-sacrifice. I didn't tell him what I didn't want him to know- I was the only one who could stop Jane. Her legendary "gift" was infallible on all… except for one.

So instead of telling him this, I reached over across our seats to take his hand. He believed that I had been reassured. While he glanced down at our entwined hands, which were resting on the black leather of his Volvo, he remembered something.

"Are you sure you're okay with leaving your Beetle in Alaska?"

I rolled my eyes. "Very sure. I've never even driven it."

He feigned hurt. "What's wrong with it?"

"It doesn't have the character my truck had. Maybe in a couple of decades I will learn to love it." He scoffed, and I smirked at him. After a moment, I added, "Besides, it's not like I need it. I don't plan to go anywhere without you, anyway."

Edward's frown slowly transformed into his crooked smile. "Good."

Arriving at the old house was kind of eerie, in a way. It was true that we'd barely been away a week, but it somehow felt like the house belonged in another time. Not that it was ancient and decrepit; I doubted that any dust had even begun to settle. The white home belonged in the time where I was human, a past life. I supposed that Forks would always be like something from a past life to me.

Thinking about Forks made me realize something- Charlie. I wondered how he was managing, alone. Was the house still standing, or had he burned it down? Was he getting enough to eat?

"Edward," I said, whirling around mid-step, so that I was standing in the frame of the front door. "I want to go see Charlie."

His eyes widened, and tightened at the corners. "Bella… you know why you can't go see your father."

Of course I knew. Did he really think I would endanger Charlie that way? Hurting anybody was my greatest fear.

"Edward's right, it's too dangerous," Jasper added, coming up the porch steps. Almost everybody had driven their own cars back, meaning that it had been quite a procession from Denali to Forks. Considering all thirteen of us in about nine cars, the clerk at the border crossing from Canada looked like he might have a heart attack. He had probably never had so much business in his entire career.

I frowned at Jasper and Edward, frustrated. "I don't want to visit him. I just want to see him, to make sure that he's alright."

Alice had now joined our conversation. "Bella, I don't know if that's such a good idea."

"Why?" Oh no, why? "Did you see something? Do I… do I hurt Charlie?"

Alice stood on one foot, concentrating, and then shifted her weight to the other. She did this about four times before speaking. "I don't know." Alice was apologetic. "Now that almost our entire future is tied to the werewolves, I can't see anything definitive."

I didn't know whether or not to feel better about that. "Edward, we'll take precautions. You guys come with me, and I'll just check on him from afar. Even just to see him get the mail… I miss Charlie."

Edward was torn. He knew how hard it had been for me to say goodbye, and he suspected how much I worried for Charlie, even if I didn't like to admit it to him. "Okay...But from a long distance. And Emmett and Jasper are coming with us, just in case."

I scowled, but I was pleased he gave in so quickly. "Fine. But nothing will happen. Charlie is my father."

Jasper's eyebrows rose a fraction of an inch in an expression of disbelief.

"What?" I asked him, annoyed.

"Bella, you've never been around humans as a vampire before. There's a reason that Edward didn't roll down the windows for your entire trip from Alaska. There's no way to describe the… temptation of the blood."

I was taken aback, realizing yet again how hard it had been for Jasper to be around me for so long before my change. "We just hunted, I'm not thirsty." No one believed my lie- that was impossible. The aching fire was never absent. It could merely be dulled.

Jasper didn't say anything else as Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme and Emmett walked past us into the house. "I still don't think it's a good plan," he finally told me. "I'm sorry Bella, I don't think you should do this."

I was growing impatient of their molly coddling. For how long would they treat me like I was made of glass?

"I'll be fine," I practically shouted at him.

Tanya and the rest of her coven passed us on their way into the house. Her arched eyebrows rose, but none of them said anything. _Perfect, _I thought. I bet that Tanya was never as rude as me.

Jasper felt my regret a few seconds later. I didn't have to apologize; my feelings were more genuine, anyway. But he also felt my confidence, and didn't press the matter further. Soon, just Edward and I remained on the porch, looking over the railing.

"How does it feel to be back?" he mused, staring out into the open yard.

"Weird. It's like I'm seeing it all for the first time, but not really. Sort of like it has been a few years."

Edward nodded. He had told me that Forks would be hazy, but I hadn't expected this.

"Do you think I can handle seeing Charlie tomorrow?" I whispered. I didn't want to admit this fear before, but Edward was the only person I would trust to answer me honestly.

"Yes." He squeezed my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. "Trust me. Trust yourself."

With Edward's assurance, I waited with him, Jasper, and Emmett in the woods near the house. We were close enough that I could see, but far enough that Jasper deemed it "acceptable." I didn't protest, because even daring Emmett had been stealing furtive looks at me all morning.

At exactly five-thirty a.m., just like clockwork, the front door creaked open. I stopped breathing, just to be safe. Charlie was too important.

Bare feet slapped the pavement as my dad walked groggily down our short driveway to bend down for the morning paper. In a half hour he would leave for work, and every morning he ate breakfast while reading the paper.

"Price of gas hits record high…going to the dogs…" I distinctly heard Charlie mutter under his breath, slapping the front page. He was still pursuing the article when he straightened up and began to walk back to the front door, which hung open expectantly.

I laughed in relief. Edward had guessed the extent of my fretting over Charlie, but he had no idea. I'd probably spent hours obsessing about just exactly how long the food I'd stock-piled for him would last if he never went grocery shopping. And Emmett would have made fun of me if he found out that I had gone to the store just to buy several extra pairs of boxers for Charlie, in case he forgot to do the laundry.

Knowing that Charlie seemed to be okay was like a weight off my chest. Of course he was living alone now, and I didn't doubt that he thought of me from time to time, but otherwise the police chief of Forks was up to business as usual.

Now that the vice of strain was removed from my chest, I felt like I could breathe deeply. I did, relishing the autumn smell of the pine trees, freshly sprinkled with rain. I could also smell the dregs of coffee in the mug that Charlie held, now wafting toward me on the wind.

Edward froze. It was three months ago in the clearing. The breeze ruffled my hair gently. James crouched, Edward growled.

I blinked, coming out of my reverie. No, no, I was _not _James.

But the scent was maddening. More and more of the blood-drenched air blew across my face, and I couldn't stop from inhaling deeply. The smell was like giving a starving man just one grain of rice. The very scent teased me, offering relief from the thirst that ruled my body.

Charlie was the cure for the famine. And I was starving. Famished. Never before had anything smelled so sweet.

My mouth filled with sweet venom, anticipating the blood. Muscles tensed, pupils dilated, I sprung into the air. I didn't think of anything but satisfying the raging desire that now consumed me, made my vision blur red. I didn't see a man, let alone my father. I only saw the pulsing reward waiting for me beneath a thin membrane of skin.

Something hit me very hard from the side. It was Edward. Edward. Seeing his face made me lose my concentration on the blood for a split second. In that one second, I was able to remember why I shouldn't sink my powerful new teeth into the appealing man holding the newspaper. He was my father.

I couldn't. And yet… I could. I wanted to, so badly. I would die if I didn't. Edward wrestled me to the ground, trying desperately to hold onto me. But I was strong and new. Nothing was going to stop me; it would take only a fraction of a second to kill my father. He hadn't even looked up from the paper. His other foot hadn't even hit the pavement yet; he moved so slowly towards safety.

"Don't--let…me," I choked out, between growls. Two forces were inside me, battling for dominance. I truly understood the classic symbol of the angel of good versus the angel of hell.

"Shh… Bella, Bella, come back." Edward grunted with the effort of pinning me down. Jasper stood between me and Charlie, barely covered by the greenery. We were still yards from my father, but he was still so close.

My fingernails scrabbled in the dirt. I was Bree, the girl from the meadow. My body even lurched back and forth like hers had, literally torn between two desires: the desire to drink the essence of life before you, and the desire to live. For me, it was the desire to be able to live with myself.

"Please," I sobbed, unable to force myself to retreat. "Help."

"Emmett," Edward grunted. Instantly Emmett's strong arms locked around my torso. Edward still pressed my legs to the ground. They were both almost sitting on me, but the fire drove me to inch forward.

I writhed and moaned, trying to focus on the person, not the blood. Charlie.

The screen door slammed. The front door closed. Charlie went to eat his breakfast.

Sobbing in earnest now, I kept repeating the same thing over and over, clawing at my own face in disgust. "Don't let me. Don't let me. Don't let me."

I closed my eyes and made my body freeze. I couldn't handle moving or breathing. Edward just locked me into his arms, Jasper and Emmett on either side to help, and flew back to the house with me.

Staring numbly at the wall in shock three hours later, I couldn't believe what I had almost done. I had almost just murdered my own father. Edward held me on the couch in the living room, rocking me and whispering to me.

"You didn't do anything. Charlie's fine. You didn't do anything."

I couldn't speak yet. If Edward hadn't been there… Charlie would be dead. I felt sick. I was an awful person. If I'd had a mirror with me, I was sure that my eyes would be scarlet. They would be exactly like Aro's, and James's, and Victoria's, and Bree's, and Jane's.

I wasn't any better than they were.

"I'm a monster, Edward," I finally croaked out. "I'm an awful person. You shouldn't be touching me. How can you love me?"

"Shh," he soothed, holding me more closely to his body. "I'll always love you. And you're not a monster. You weren't ready, I shouldn't have let you do that."

I shook my head at his excuses. "My own father."

"Bella," he argued, "If you had wanted to kill him, then Charlie would be dead."

I closed my eyes on the word dead. It reverberated in my ears, repeating over and over again.

"For a moment, there was no way I could have been strong enough to hold you. But you fought it, and believe me, I know how hard it is to do."

But I couldn't believe him. Edward had killed before, but never innocents- especially not his own flesh and… _blood_.

"It will get better. You will become stronger, more resistant. I promise. You are not a bad person for this. It makes you a better person- you didn't give in. I'm proud of you."

I opened my eyes slowly, scrutinizing Edward's face. If he had forgiven me, maybe I could get through this day. I could never forgive myself, though. His forgiveness would have to be enough.

"Bella," he said earnestly, "You've always been stronger than you give yourself credit for. You amaze me, and I love you."

I took my first breath since the forest near my old house. I was still terrified that somehow, the scent wouldn't have left. Terrified that Charlie would come strolling into the living room. Before, I had been fretting that he was living without me. Now, I was relieved. He was much, much safer. I would never put him in that kind of danger again.

I looked at Edward's beautiful face, having a kind of epiphany. "I understand why you left."

He didn't have to ask what I was referring to. He knew. And like always, a shadow crossed his face for a split second at the memory.

"I never wanted to hurt you, just like you would never want to hurt Charlie."

Putting my cheek against his shoulder, I said, "I'm alive."

"So is Charlie," Edward replied.

Sounds from the opposite side of the room made me lift my head from Edward's shoulder a moment later. In the heat of my pain, I hadn't even realized that Edward and I were not alone. Every single vampire in Forks was sitting awkwardly in the large living room, as far away from us as possible. They meant to be respectful, but I felt like a disease. I wasn't good enough to be near any of them.

"You're wrong," Jasper said. Where had I heard that before? Just like the last time, I appreciated his attempt. And just like the last time, I couldn't make myself believe him.

"Bella, I'm really sorry to do this, but we don't have much time." Alice spoke softly, like you would speak to someone in a hospital.

"We need to call the werewolves," Kate said bluntly. She was such a pleasant, tactful girl. Really, a doll.

"Okay."

Not one of the Cullens met my eyes.

"Oh." I understood.

"I need to call Jacob," I stated, not asked.

Edward silently handed me his silver cell-phone, looking worried and anguished. I knew that he was only worried for me, but his expression dredged up old remorse. I placed one palm on his cheek to reassure him.

Ring.

It was loud in my ear, an angry buzzing. Accusatory. If I'd still had a pulse, it would have been hammering in my ears right now, and my palms would have been sweating.

Ring.

Longer than the first. I couldn't decide what was worse: the long, agonizing shrieks from the phone, or the tense silence between each one.

Ring.

The sound seemed to stretch on for eternity. What would Jacob say? He would hate me. Worse than that- he would rather see me dead.

"Hello?" The low, husky voice set off a tumult of emotion. Besides the fear and anxiety, there was guilt, and lots of it.

"Jake?" I asked, for convention's sake. I would recognize his voice anywhere.

There was a pause. I wouldn't have blamed him for hanging up on me. I'd been so cruel. I didn't know what to expect, what to say. So I just waited.

"Bella?"

**A/N: Thank you times one million for reviewing. I read them all, and try to respond to at least some. To be honest, they are so nice that I sometimes find myself blushing! Your reviews really encourage me to get typing faster. I wasn't even going to get started on this until tomorrow, but I felt really encouraged to get going. **


	16. The Clearing

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N: I'm sorry this has taken so long! It is the longest Jake chapter yet, though…brownie points? At least dark April is finally half way over. If you don't know what that is, it's the time of year when everyone realizes that there are only 30 school days left to finish projects and bring up their grades. **

**I am not giving up on this story; it's only half way done! So here is your next chapter. Just a quick reminder: I love to get questions, so if you leave me one, please do not leave anonymously, because then I can't answer it!**

THE CLEARING

Jacob's POV:

"Um, earth to Jake?"

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"Uh…it's your turn," Quil told me, shaking his head. I had been off in my own world a lot lately.

"Oh, right," I replied absently, rolling the dice.

For some reason known only to Embry, we had been playing monopoly for the last two and a half hours straight. He had insisted that it would get my mind off of my "personal issues" as he sarcastically called them. The pack didn't understand- they assumed that once I had imprinted, I could just drop Bella. Like she had never existed. That was impossible, and I wasn't sure if I would have wanted to anyway. It was ripping me up inside, but to just forget about Bella? I could never do that.

But I also couldn't forget about Jamie. I was constantly struggling between the two parts of me. "Nature" said that I should be with Jamie, that she was my soul mate. But didn't I get a say? I would not just blindly follow whatever some werewolf thing decided to do to my body; this was my life.

"Dude, man, you blow at this game," Embry complained, waving his hand in the air. "Now pay up, you owe me four-hundred and twenty-two dollars rent."

I rolled my eyes at him, and stuffed some fake money into his out-stretched fist. This little exercise was certainly not meant for me- Embry loved monopoly. He was so into it, building hotels everywhere and strategizing intensely. Each throw of the dice was accompanied by a creased brow and serious frown, as though he could will them to land on the perfect number. It was ridiculous.

"Embry," I complained. "Can't we just forget about this? Come on, let's do something else!"

"Like what?" he retorted, carefully placing his freshly earned bills into color-coded stacks.

"I don't know…"

Embry looked up from his heap of money with the air of someone trying very hard to be patient with a small child. "Jake, that's why Quil and I are here. You never want to go anywhere and you don't know what to do. You just sit around your house and mope. Frankly, we're getting tired of it."

"Well," Quil added, "he doesn't sit around here _all_ day…" He waggled his eyebrows up and down obnoxiously.

"Whatever," I muttered, shrugging my shoulders in what I hoped was a casual way. It was true- I didn't stay around here all day. Ever since my first late night visit to Jamie's house, I hadn't been able to help sneaking back. I felt weird about it each time, but it was too much to resist. Just being around her was like a drug- my body needed it to function. So, in an effort to stay sane, I had made one tiny concession to my werewolf side. I saw her- but only while she was asleep. Jamie didn't need to get attached to me; I had nothing to offer her. And I didn't want to let myself get any more attached to her.

Last night had been the same as almost every night the past week. About eleven, I would carefully ease open her window, and silently slip into the room. I usually just stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, drinking in the sight of her.

The way she tossed restlessly in her sleep, as though trying to wake up from a dream. Or how sometimes she would twitch her legs while asleep, like she was wound up with nervous energy, and never able to completely relax. Jamie's dark hair would splay haphazardly across her pillows, and her full lips would part slightly, seeming to quiver with every breath that passed through them. When the urge to go to her, to touch her, became too strong, I made myself leave. I was embarrassed to admit that in my sleep, I had dreams of just running one hand through her shiny hair, even if for a moment.

But those unconscious thoughts just made me all the more bitter in the morning; I hated that she had such power over me, and I tried my hardest to hate her. This average, ordinary girl was ruling my life, and she didn't even know it. I hated it, but I went back to her almost every night. Seeing Jamie was bittersweet. When near her, I felt so…whole. But every morning, a guilty and resentful sourness would swallow me.

"Quil," I began seriously, after patiently waiting for him to pay his luxury tax. He was still grumbling and cursing under his breath when he looked up at me, seeming surprised.

"Yes?"

"Uh, well, I was wondering."

Embry laughed, looking at me shrewdly. "And what would you enquire of dearest Quil, my young friend?"

"Embry, shut up," I said, facing away from him, towards Quil. Embry was like a boomerang; no matter how hard you pushed him away, he always came back, laughing like anything. Usually I liked that about him, his ability to see life as a party. But right now it was a pain in the ass.

"Do you think that I'll ever be… normal again?" I asked Quil. Usually, I wouldn't have done it with Embry in the room. But soon enough, the entire pack would know.

Quil didn't need to ask what I meant. "Jake, this is normal for you. You're a werewolf." He spoke slowly, not quite meeting my eyes.

I knew already that Quil hadn't had the best reaction to his imprint, similar to me. But he also hadn't been in love, so he couldn't sympathize.

"I meant that do you think that I'll be able to get over Jamie?"

"Jake…" Quil's eyes moved to a spot just over my head. "This isn't something you can 'get over'. It's such a big part of who you are. You know that I tried to stay away from Claire, at first. But I couldn't- it was like losing a part of myself. You're tied to Jamie forever."

I cracked my knuckles, furiously condemning vampires to the darkest pit of hell. If not for them, I wouldn't be like this. And if not for them, Bella and I—

"Well, I can try," I answered him, attempting to keep my voice even.

"Jake, you can't--"

Thankfully, whatever brilliantly wise argument Quil was about to make was drowned out by the ringing over the telephone. Saved by the bell. I vaulted over the back of the sofa easily, 'accidentally' catching the edge of the monopoly board with my foot as I passed.

"Hey!" Embry shouted, attempting fruitlessly to catch the falling pieces.

"Oops!" I called over my shoulder, trying to suppress laughter when I saw his crestfallen face. He had been so close to victory, too- what a shame.

The phone shrieked for the third time, and I hurried to pick up. No one called here, usually; if the pack had a message to deliver, it would get done 'through the grapevine' of thoughts.

I spoke directly into the mouthpiece, in order to block out the mutterings and complaints of Embry.

"Hello?"

There was a pregnant silence.

"Jake?"

I felt as though all the wind had been knocked out of me. A small puff of air escaped my stunned lips, but none after that. I couldn't breathe. It was Bella.

"Bella?" I asked, still befuddled. She was with _him_ now. And she was probably…

"Yeah." Awkward, uncomfortable laughter. "I know that you're probably surprised to hear from me…"

That was the understatement of the year. I tried to keep my mind from creating dozens of scenarios in my head, but couldn't manage it. Was Bella in trouble? Did she change her mind about being a vampire? Did she change her mind about me? I waited, still, not breathing, for the explanation behind her call. I secretly hoped for the latter, while trying to display a sense of nonchalance. Embry and Quil had frozen behind me, midway through cleaning up the scattered game. Both of their jaws hung open, and they stared intently at the receiver, as though wishing for words of explanation. I frowned at the phone as well, seeking some sort of clarification.

"…But, uh, we need to meet."

I had no idea what to say to that. That wasn't any sort of an explanation! It didn't answer any questions. After a second or two, Bella seemed to realize that.

"I mean that we all need to meet. You, the wolves, and us."

The way she said "us" made my stomach squirm. Did she mean "us" as in the Cullen family? Or did she mean "us" as in the coven of immortal bloodsuckers? I wanted to ask, but I didn't want to know the answer even more.

"Why?" I asked harshly.

"There's something we need to discuss. But can you meet tonight?"

"I'll talk to Sam," I said shortly. Of course I was going to meet tonight, no matter what he said. Bella would be with him of course, but it would be worth that just to see her. Asking Sam was merely a perfunctory gesture on my part.

"Okay. Um, let me know soon, I guess." Bella sounded more and more uncomfortable each minute.

"Wait! Bella…" The words wouldn't come past my lips. The question I cared about most of all was stuck, trapped in the void between thought and action.

"Are you okay?" I settled for that question, not able to ask what I really meant.

"Yeah, Jake, I'm okay. Are you?"

My hand tightened around the receiver. How could she think that I was okay? "Yeah. Talk to you later." My voice was gruff, and I cleared my throat as I slammed the phone back onto its cradle.

I took two deep breaths, and swiveled to look at Embry and Quil. Both were still absurdly frozen in mid-crouch, pink bills and plastic houses dangling from their immobile fingers.

"What in the…" Quil wondered, looking at me perplexedly. And also like he was worried about me. I hated that.

"She wants to meet." Silence. "Everyone, all of us," I clarified, pointedly trying to sound business-like.

"What are we going to do?" Embry asked.

"We're going to see Sam." My voice was flat, and left no room for argument. I could tell that Quil and Embry were reluctant to even tell Sam about the meeting- they were probably worrying about what it would do to me. I wished that they would stop over analyzing everything- I could handle it.

Not more than forty minutes later, everyone had crammed into Emily's kitchen. There were so many huge, muscular bodies that it was hard to breathe, let alone get a word in edgewise. But that didn't stop them from trying.

"No way!" Leah snorted, shaking out her long black hair in a haughty way. No one paid her any attention.

"What do they want? Hey, do we get to fight?" Collin asked excitedly, looking around like the young pup he was.

"I don't trust them," Paul said in a low voice.

At his statement I whipped my head around, narrowing my eyes. "We don't have to trust them. I trust Bella."

There was silence for a moment.

"What if…"

"Shut up!" I roared, unable to quell the fury that rose in my chest at the thought. Paul didn't have to voice it- I knew what they all thought. _What if it was too late?_

Taking a deep breath, I looked to Sam. I purposefully made my tone aloof and authoritative. "Sam, we need to make a decision."

The largest man nodded absently. Sam was a few years older than I was, but he still looked almost indiscernible as our leader. The only things that marked him for what he was were his sheer size, the way we all instinctively respected him, and the down-turned corners of his eyes. The lines there weren't from aging, of course, they were from wear. Sam had been through so much, and as much as I hated to admit it to myself, the lines were there from being a werewolf. Breaking your high school sweetheart's heart tended to do that to a person, no matter what the rewards of imprinting were.

Ugh, imprinting. I tried to shove that thought to the side, but it hung around my head, unshakable as ever. Even when I wasn't consciously thinking of Jamie, she was always there, like some sort of extra persistent gnat.

"We will meet. We were able to work together last time. Jake?" Sam spoke in a rumbling murmur, but everyone heard him; all had fallen silent for the chief.

"I'll call," was my only response.

I stood up quickly from the long kitchen table, and strode to another room. They would hear it anyway, but why not put off the looks of sympathy and exasperation?

Leah's lazy drawl sounded behind me. "Maybe we'll even get to kick some vampire ass again."

I held back a shudder. I knew that Leah hadn't meant it like that. But still… I had promised.

_Maybe I'll become such a menace that the pack will have to take me out._

_I'd hamstring any one of my brothers who tried._

My hands shook on their way to pick up the old phone hanging off the wall in Sam's living room. Perhaps Leah had meant it like that.

It was a full moon. The irony of that was so fitting; midnight, in a dark and creepy clearing on the night of the full moon. Oh yeah, and there were going to be plenty of mythical werewolves and vampires present.

We were ranged in a line, staring tensely towards the clearing from the protection of many dense trees. Gigantic, furry paws twitching in anticipation. Uncertain and nervous thoughts flavoring the autumn air.

The sense of déjà vu was almost sickening, clogging in my lungs. What had changed since then? Was Bella…not alive anymore?

_I can't believe her still loves her._

_Jake, man, relax. _

_I bet she's a filthy leech by now. _

I let out an audible growl, directed at Leah. Only her voice would drip venom in my head.

I hated that their thoughts centered on me. I hated that their thoughts centered on Bella. No one in the pack wanted her to be a vampire, of course. They had seen from my thoughts that Bella had bee planning on it- but we didn't know for sure.

_Don't worry, Jake, they can't break the treaty._

I winced at Sam's reassurances. Of course they could, and we could be too late. My heart had broken when Bella married _him_. But if she had let him take her life… I thought that my heart might stop working all together.

A twig snapped somewhere in the forest. In unison, all ears perked up intently, straining to track the progress of the approaching party. Muffled whispers came from the opposite side of the clearing, as did unnaturally lithe footfalls. Our deep brown eyes combed the wall of trees on the other side of the grassy space in front of us.

After a pause, Carlisle took one step into the clearing, smiling slightly, as though he wished to placate our anxiousness. His wife stepped to his side soon after, followed by the undeniably gorgeous blond woman and the burly man. Then the shorthaired sprite appeared beside her blond husband, clasping his hand. I expected for Edward and Bella to come forward next, and I stopped breathing in anticipation.

But instead of either of them coming to stand on the left side of Carlisle, which was still left empty, a tall, olive-skinned man with black hair came into view on the extreme right. Vampire. And one, two, three, four other unknown leeches accompanied him.

A low hiss originated at the end of our line of wolves, slowly filling the night air.

_Who are they?_

_Vampire. Leech. Bloodsucker._

_Why did they bring more here?_

Still, their leader did not explain. It was infuriating. Instead, Carlisle looked over his right shoulder, seeming to make brief eye contact with somebody.

In a minute that dragged on for years, Edward moved into view. And attached to his right hand by her own was a stunning woman with chocolate brown hair and startlingly blood red eyes.

I went numb, and my heart throbbed in my chest painfully. Just one loud thump, and then it seemed to stop.

Bella.

**A/N:**** Ooh, what's going to happen?**

**I am honestly going to try to get back into updating more frequently, but I do not expect my teachers or coach to let up any. Thanks for reading, as always, and for sticking with the story!**

**Also, thanks in particular to one reader who left me a very detailed review. I wish that I could reply to it, but it was anonymous, so I just wanted to throw in a thank-you here! It was so awesome to read, and I'm definitely flattered. **


	17. Alliances and Enemies

Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer

**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.**

**A/N: SORRY SORRY SORRY. I know I'm an awful human being for being so slow. Feel free to send me hate mail : , and I feel really guilty!! This chapter was the hardest to write, and my life is just starting to calm down. I would give you my entire list of excuses, but I'd bet that you're already reading the chapter by now…**

ALLIANCES AND ENEMIES

I was still getting used to how much sharper all of my senses were. I could hear the footsteps of every single vampire heading to the clearing: Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Alice, Jasper, Eleazar, Carmen, Irina, Kate, Edward and I. As I listened to their feet fall rapidly on the forest floor, I thought about my conversation with Jake. It had been… confusing, and definitely uncomfortable. He had asked me if I was okay- and I could tell what he really meant. In Jake's opinion, "okay" was not a vampire.

"Hey, Bella!" Emmett called, startling me out of my dark thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Wait up!"

"What?" I looked around me, and realized that the others were several hundred yards behind. Thanks to my vision, I could just make them out between the trees. It was definitely weird, being the fastest one for a change.

"Oh, sorry," I told the others, allowing them to catch up to where I was.

Edward came up on my left side, placing what was intended to be a comforting hand on my shoulder. Instead it was guilt in a tangible form, tugging at me, pulling, a constant reminder of what I had done wrong. Who I had wronged.

I didn't look at Edward's face after I stepped away from his arm. Instead I turned back to Emmett, who was just now crashing through the dense trees.

"You're fast, Bella, I'll give you that." Emmett's voice was light and playful, laced with a hint of humor. "You haven't tripped once yet."

Partly to get away from Edward's patient gaze- another layer of self-shame- and partly to avoid Tanya, who was sure to be along any second, I grinned at Emmett devilishly. One corner of his friendly smile turned up in confusion, but also curiosity. He sensed a challenge.

"Race you!" I yelled at him, and then took off into the darkness. I could hear him curse behind me, then the frantic footfalls of a true competitor. Emmett was a fine vampire, but no match for a newborn. Gradually, his noises of his tramping fell away, and I was left to the forest.

My breath came evenly, as calm as anything. How odd to think that I didn't need to breathe. I decided to try it; I choked back my desire for oxygen, focusing instead on the sounds I was able to more clearly hear thanks to the absence of my breath.

I wondered if I would ever get used to this new… everything: my body, senses, and the world as a whole. In a hundred years? A thousand? A branch snapped in the distance, maybe two or three miles away, accompanied by a whisper of something appetizing. Then I realized I had started to breathe again, not consciously aware that I had been doing it. Maybe I retained more of my humanity than I had thought. I could understand, now, though, why Edward had always felt that he was a monster. Everything about being a vampire was so… unnatural.

_Although, _I thought to myself, _no one as perfect as Edward can be accused of being evil. _It was the truth. If Edward didn't deserve heaven, didn't deserve forgiveness, didn't deserve a _soul,_ then who did?

A sickening stench caused me to stop in my tracks. What on earth was that foul odor? It was similar to a wet, dirty animal…

"Bella?" Edward's gentle voice sounded from just behind me.

"What is that?" I asked, not looking at him. I was scanning the trees for whatever could be the source of the smell.

Edward paused for a second or two, as though trying to phrase his words carefully. "The werewolves are nearby. The clearing is just a few yards ahead of us."

The wolves? Wow, Edward had really not been exaggerating when he told me how awful they smelled. It was silly, but I sniffed my own shoulder self-consciously- how badly, then, did I have to smell to the wolves?

"You weren't exaggerating about the scent," I breathed, trying to use as little air as possible while speaking. I didn't want to have to breathe again anytime soon; that would probably make our meeting a little more comfortable.

While I had been talking with Edward, the others had come through the trees behind us, slowing to stand near to where we were. Edward and I stood on the extreme right of the group, the other vampires ranging out to form a line. Now came the part I had been dreading: the part where Jacob would see, and know for sure, what I had become. His certain revulsion would be a slap in the face.

"They're here," Carlisle whispered, unnecessarily. "They're not going to be thrilled that we've brought five- six- new vampires with us, but we need to convince them to join us."

"Or at least to believe us… if The Volturi plan to- to eliminate them, they should at least have fair warning," I added, feeling slightly loyal to the pack. They would hate me forever, of course, but I still felt protective of the wolves. _My _wolves. Had I not once called my self a 'wolf girl'?

Carlisle seemed to make brief eye contact with Eleazar, and held one palm in front of him like a warning. Obviously, Carlisle thought it would be better if the werewolves didn't glimpse the vampires from Denali first.

Carlisle stepped forward, across the tree line into the very edge of the clearing. Esme followed half a second behind. Emmett and Rosalie (her nose turned up in disgust) moved into the clearing next. Jasper and Alice (I could feel the waves of calm that Jasper was working hard to emit) stepped forward after them. A moment of hesitation, and then Eleazar, Carmen, Kate, Irina, and Tanya tentatively walked through the last of the trees. It had to be slightly intimidating, seeing the enormous werewolves for the first time.

I knew then that it was time for Edward and I to move into view, but I couldn't help but prolong the last of the moments where I would be free of Jake's betrayed gaze. I couldn't stand for him to hate me anymore than he already must.

Edward gathered my hand in his and brought it up to his lips for a reassuring kiss. I managed to look into his ocher eyes and give him a tremulous smile. He stepped through the trees first, and I dragged behind him, staring at the dirt of the forest floor. I let my gaze slowly lift, not able to help myself from seeking the familiar pair of brown eyes.

The wolves were ranged as far away from us as they could possibly be, still slightly in the protective sheath of vegetation that lined the clearing. My sharp vision allowed me to distinctly make out each hulking shape, all of whom seemed to be twitching with what could only be described as revulsion. I scanned quickly through their uncomfortable ranks, noting that there were a couple of colors that I couldn't place… the pack hadn't stopped expanding in our absence. The second largest of the wolves was waiting to meet my scarlet eyes. I heard a faint whimper before the wolf ducked his head and closed his eyes. _Jake. _

Edward was also staring at Jacob, visibly wincing from the condemnation that was undoubtedly screaming from his mind. Then Edward sighed. "I'm going to have to speak for them again. And they aren't happy."

We knew that they wouldn't be.

Carlisle raised his two arms in front of him, palms out, in a gesture of peace. "We would appreciate the chance to speak with you, as a matter of urgency." Carlisle's tone was soothing and soft.

"Why have you brought others here? To our territory?" Edward sounded flat and bored, like he was reading from a script.

"These are our friends from Alaska: Eleazar, Carmen, Kate, Irina, and Tanya." Carlisle gestured to them in turn. "They are like us, Sam, do not worry."

The werewolf in the center of the pack line, clearly Sam, seemed to snort. "You bring bloodsuckers to my land, and tell me not to worry?"

"Sam, there is a matter of greater importance to discuss. They have come here from Denali to help us… to help all of us."

Sam's reply sounded angry, even in Edward's bored translation. "There can be no _us, _leech. You have broken the treaty." Every face in the clearing turned in my direction. "That means only one thing."

Carlisle spoke hastily, trying to head of the storm. "It was necessary."

A low hiss seemed to originate from the opposite side of the space and fill the clearing with its vicious accusation.

I squared my shoulders and stepped forward. "There are other vampires, more powerful ones, that I met last spring, when I…left. They're sort of a uh…" My voice faltered. Every single wolf was glaring at me. A few even parted their lips to show off their sharp teeth.

"The Volturi are the most powerful vampires in the world. They are cruel and do _not _share our choice in lifestyle. They threatened to take Bella's life unless she was turned into a vampire. Humans aren't supposed to know about our existence." Edward stepped in for me, still holding onto my hand.

Edward answered himself, though in a slightly different voice. "Then why did you come back?" I could imagine the venom that surely would have seeped from Sam's words if he had been able to speak for himself.

"Unfortunately, ah, these Volturi have numerous talents. Aro has a talent similar to Edward's: he knows every thought that you have ever had." Carlisle continued to speak, and a visible chill ran down the pack's line. "In the course of Edward's…visit to Italy, Aro learned of your pack. The Volturi view you as a threat to vampires. Alice has seen them coming here for you." Carlisle didn't say it outright, but a sense of doom was implied.

"We can handle it."

Carlisle was shaking his head before Edward had even finished relaying the sentence. "The Volturi outnumber you. They have sinister talents, and will not hesitate to destroy every last member of your pack. The Volturi have never been overcome, not in thousands of years."

"So you come here to tell us that because of _you,_ we are to die. You break the treaty, bring more unwelcome bloodsuckers to our land, and bring down upon us an evil even more terrible than yourselves." The largest werewolf, Sam, threw his head back in outrage as Edward translated his accusations.

"The Volturi come here not only for you- they are also threatened by us, Sam. Or rather, Aro is jealous. You see, our family is the largest clan outside of The Volturi themselves. Aro has made his decision- there is no room for negotiation. We must fight The Volturi- or die. Our friends from Denali have come to join us, before Aro decides that they, too, need to be taken care of."

"Why should we care if your clan is eliminated?"

Carlisle clasped his hands, but did not otherwise let his frustration show. "Sam, we are both in very similar situations. Now, I'm sorry that we have put you in danger. Truly, I am. But we have worked together before. Separately, we stand no chance. Together, at least we have hope."

There was silence for a moment. Edward's brow creased in the center; he was listening intently to the conversation that must have been raging in the werewolves' minds. Each werewolf seemed to have a different reaction to Carlisle's proposal. A few were blatantly shaking their great heads back and forth. Some did not move at all, but a couple seemed to look almost eager. My eyes, however, could not focus on any wolf for longer than a few seconds, save for one. But Jake did not look at me. Not at all. He kept his head down and, from what I could see, his eyes remained closed. For a moment I wished that I were human again, just so that I would be able to go to him now, and rest one hand on his defeated face.

Carlisle seemed to grow impatient all of a sudden, and his next words were harsh. "Sam, neither of us needs another enemy. Unless we can form an alliance, here and now, our deaths will negate the importance of any previous treaty. We do not have much time."

Despite Jasper's influence, the atmosphere grew in intensity until…

"An alliance, then."

I closed my eyes in relief as soon as the words left Edward's mouth. There was a flurry of quick conversation about the details, but I didn't pay attention. I was happy that the wolves would join us, of course, but our alliance made the coming fight all that much more real. Carlisle was right: we were running out of time. Time to prepare, time to plan, time to live, perhaps. I spent a few minutes panicking, silently leaning into Edward for support. How much longer did we have? Really, who were we kidding? What chance could we possibly stand?

Emmett clapped his hands together loudly, and I looked over at him. An unabashed grin spread across his face. "Who's ready for a fight?"

Rosalie smacked him on the back of his head. No one answered; all of their thoughts were probably wandering along the same road of dread that mine had been.

I had returned to my misery, glancing every couple of seconds at the wolves; Jacob had still not moved once. I stared at the pack closely, picking out those I knew. Embry, Quil, Sam, Leah, Seth…

The Denali clan and my family had grouped around Edward and I; the discussion had apparently reached an end. I didn't ask what the plan was from here. I would find out soon enough.

"Let's go home," Edward whispered in my ear. His hold was gentle, like he could sense how fragile and panicky I was.

I nodded once, slowly. The wolves were also turning for the trees. Back across their lines, toward LaPush.

We moved more slowly than before, walking at a human pace into the shroud of forest. Alice's arms were wrapped around Jasper's waist, and every other couple mimicked their position. It was an unspoken realization… this could be the end.

I looked back only once before I lost sight of the clearing. There, obscured by the dark trees on the other side, stood a tall, dark man wearing only cut-off shorts. _Jake._ And his expression was twisted in abhorrence. He hated what I had become. Despite the fact that the wolves had recently become our allies, I had no doubt that Jacob counted me among his enemies. The place where my heart used to beat ached. A scene from my human memory replayed in my mind:

Jake's usually cheerful face, pinched with anger. His too-big hands vibrating dangerously. "_I would rather see you dead."_

My best friend loathed me. 

**A/N:**** So if you feel like you might possibly be able to forgive me for my tardiness, leave a review ;) I'm going to be working very hard to finish this before August 2****nd****… preferably well before!**

**And thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story so far- I love it! I know how tempting it is to click away from the little purple button, but I really appreciate you taking the time to drop me a line. **

**ALSO I made a community. It's called "Not the Same Old Story" because I'm tired of reading the same stories over and over. So it would be great if you joined ******


	18. Full Circle

**Full Circle**

**A/N: Okay, I really meant it about finishing before August 2****nd****. So my goal is to post at least every 3 days. If I don't, feel free to leave me all the angry reviews you want and tell me to get my lazy self in gear.**

We had come full circle. Or at least that's how I viewed it; the others probably wouldn't agree with my morbid feelings that this could be the end for us. But this clearing… really, it was the place where everything began. The night my life began was with Edward and his family in this spot. Could this also be where my life would end?

I thought about the werewolves' reaction to me- Jacob's in particular. He was disgusted… was I going to die having my best friend hate me? I didn't think I could stand that. He would remember me forever as the evil vampire who ripped out his heart. I sighed out loud- at least he would be around to think of me at all. On that I was determined. No one was going to get hurt for me this time. This was between Jane and I, or it would ultimately be.

Jasper cleared his throat to start, and I stared one last time at the spot where the wolves had stood not too long before. They had left already- Edward claiming that they felt they had had enough practice fighting with vampires. But, I thought, that seemed a lie. I knew for a fact that Jake had been the first one to sprint away… and it seemed the others followed more out of solidarity than anything else.

"Okay, I know that it hasn't been long since the- since the last time…" Jasper let his voice trail off before picking back up. "But fighting The Volturi is going to be a lot different than the newborns. For starters, they're extremely well practiced and intelligent fighters. Also, most of the fighting is going to be done using powers."

Edward, Alice, Kate, Carmen and I nodded warily at Jasper. Warily in my case, at least- I had almost no control over my power.

"Bella," Jasper addressed me while simultaneously giving me a dose of… was that confidence? "Your power is going to be the most, uh, useful, I think. Our main focus tonight will be on training you."

Perfect. Edward was holding me against his body, gently massaging my shoulders while I chewed on my lip. I was trying to focus on his soothing circles, so when he suddenly stopped, I noticed. Edward was looking intently at Alice, who had that familiar zoned-out expression on her delicate face.

Jasper blurred to her side immediately. "What do you see?"

Alice came out of her trance more quickly than usual, and with a smile. That was odd… given our situation.

"It's okay! Bella, I saw that you're going to be able to control your power in time! It looks seriously cool, too!" Alice was chipper, and I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

"What? Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent! So stop worrying!"

Edward resumed the massaging of my shoulders. I found it much easier to relax now.

"Alice," Tanya began with a slight sneer, "you're still sure that you can't see what will happen when we fight The Volturi?"

"No, like I said before, I can't see the werewolves. Since our fate is mingled with theirs… I'm blind."

Jasper took her small hand in his larger one. "It's not Alice's fault. We don't know why she can't see them."

Tanya sniffed, almost in disbelief. Jasper opened his mouth to defend Alice further, but Eleazar- wisely- intervened.

"Given our limited amount of time, I think that we should go ahead and start practicing."

"Right." Jasper glanced once more in Tanya's haughty direction. "We need to practice combining powers with traditional fighting. Obviously, our main problem is going to be Jane."

Every face in the clearing turned in my direction.

"The other day, Bella, you were able to negate Kate's power. We're hoping that you can do the same to Jane's."

I squared my shoulders and nodded at Jasper briefly, not trusting my voice. How in the world was I possibly going to defeat one of the most feared and powerful vampires in the world?

"Don't worry Bella, you will be able to," Alice assured me. Edward threw her a look so quickly that even my heightened senses couldn't quite catch the expression on his face.

Somehow, Alice's vision did make me slightly more self-assured. Combined with Jasper's influence, I sort of felt like it might be possible.

"Then let's not waste any time and start practicing." Carlisle gave me a fatherly smile- both encouraging and reassuring at the same time. Next to him, Esme mirrored his expression.

Edward quickly raised his hands from my shoulders and put them in front of me, palms forward. "Hang on. Wait. Bella's power is very new. There is no way in _hell _that we are going to just… just throw her to Jane and hope for the best." His voice was sharp and angry, as though daring any one to contradict him. Honey colored eyes suddenly caught fire.

Edward's protective outburst stirred something in me. I was no longer human and weak- I would fight for my family, too. As a matter of fact, I would die for them. "Edward Cullen, don't you dare." My voice, in contrast to his, was a low whisper.

"What?"

"You know what. I'm not human anymore. And," I stepped away from his body to turn and poke him in the chest, "I'm the only one Jane can't hurt." I felt it would be too childish to add 'so there'.

His reply could almost be called patronizing. "Just because Jane's most formidable power is useless against you doesn't mean she still isn't the most dangerous member of The Volturi!"

My nostrils flared. "Edward, I will fight, too. There's no way around that. When are you going to stop treating me like a weak human?"

His mouth opened and closed. Edward's expression was a combination of shock, hurt, and anger. Before he could think of a reply that would make me regret my rash words, I turned to Kate. "Let's start practicing."

Close to dawn, I finally got my power under control. Or at least to the point where I was confident using it. I was able to block Kate's power every time by the end, and could also stop Edward from hearing the others' thoughts. I had finally figured out how my power worked- through love. I focused on the person I was trying to protect, focused on how much I wanted and _needed_ to protect them. Then, it was like this surge through my body that was able to reach out and surround the people I cared about. It's difficult to explain- how do you explain something that shouldn't even be possible?

Anyway, with Jasper's boosts of confidence and Alice's reassurances that it would happen, I was able to gain control. Now all I had to do was defeat Jane, the most feared vampire ever. Piece of cake, right?

When Edward had told me that vampires never sleep, I'd wrongly assumed that meant vampires didn't get tired. As we made our way back to the house, crashing through the underbrush at break-neck speeds, I realized how wrong most of my assumptions had been. I'd assumed that becoming a vampire would solve all our problems, but now The Volturi still wanted me dead. I'd assumed I'd never be tired again, but I was drained. Practicing with my power left me almost no energy, and it took an amount of effort uncharacteristic for a vampire to make it home.

Even when we finally did make it back to the house and collapsed on top of the bed (thankfully we hadn't taken the mattresses when we left), I was still exhausted.

"You haven't spoken in hours."

I looked up, startled. I'd been so much in my own world that I barely realized Edward was in the same room. I was surprised to see that the sun was already in the sky, casting shadows on the shady property.

"Sorry, I've just been thinking."

Edward took both of my hands in his larger ones, connecting us. "Won't you tell me what's the matter?"

I laughed out loud. The sound was high-pitched and slightly hysterical. "Edward! We could die in a matter of hours, days, weeks… and that's part of the problem. We don't know exactly when. It's like this big thing hanging over our heads, waiting to swoop down when we're least expecting it."

His perfect head shook side to side. "I'll admit Bella, this is dangerous. But you don't need to worry. I will do everything-"

"Edward! I've told you a thousand times! I'm a part of this family just the same as you are. What happens to you happens to me. Don't think that I'm just going to sit back and let you die to try and protect me." I fiercely held his chin between my thumb and forefinger. "I won't allow it."

And I wasn't going to. This time it would be different. I was actually going to be fighting with the wolves, so Alice couldn't see what I was planning. I was planning on saving everyone- this didn't need to be a huge, all encompassing fight to the death. The fate of everyone would depend on my fate. Jane versus me. That's all it came down to, really. Only one person could survive; I was positive about that.

I noticed that I was still clamped onto Edward's smooth jaw, so I released him and stared into his turmoil filled eyes instead. Even as worried as he was, he took my breath away. "You have to trust me, okay?"

He touched his forehead to mine and whispered back, "I do. But you have to believe me when I say that you're the most important thing in my universe. How can you expect me not to worry about you?"

Edward moved his head lower, allowing his lips to trail down my neck. My breathing hitched- not that I needed to breathe, anyway. "Jane can't hurt me."

I could feel his frown against my skin. "That doesn't mean you're invincible," he murmured. "Remember what I asked you to promise me awhile ago?"

"Hmm…" It was not easy to focus when he was still tracing patterns on my neck, slowly circling lower.

"You promised to make a conscious effort to keep yourself alive, to keep yourself safe. That still stands. Promise me that you won't do anything reckless, okay? Promise me you'll keep yourself safe. That's all that matters to me."

Nothing reckless? He would never agree to my plan- he would never let me help at all if he knew anything about it.

I slid down the bed quickly, pulling his lips to mine, tasting him. I wanted to remember this, just in case. I needed to remember the exact contours of his mouth, the planes of his cheekbones, the muscles of his chest.

Edward pulled away too soon, making me let out a slight moan. "Promise me."

His gaze was intense, scorching me with the importance of his question. God, how could I do this to him?

Then I did it anyway. I lied to him. I had to.

"I promise."

It was a good thing vampires can't cry. I did feel a lump rise in the back of my throat though, a different sensation than the thirst. An unpleasant tightening that came with hurting the person you loved the most.

All I could do was hope that he would forgive me, one day.

His lips molded once again to fit mine, moving in that deliciously familiar way.

"I love you," I breathed between kisses.

"I know," He breathed back, returning again to claim me in that most primal of ways.

Before I lost the ability to think at all, I had one final thought.

_I love him more than anything. And that's why I have to do this. _

**A/N: I love reviews and the people who write them! Like I said, I'm going to be kicking this into high gear. There are about five chapters left, and the next two are going to be really hard to write, but I'm excited for what I have planned. In my opinion, the ending will be the best part of this entire story.**

**P.S. Thank you to every person who has reviewed- I don't respond to all of them, but I appreciate every single one. **

**Note: All of my other stories are (probably) going to be on hold until I finish this one.**


	19. Judgment Day

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is awesome. **

**A/N: Wow, three days goes by really fast! And this is the longest chapter I've ever written. Over 4,000 words! Thank you for your lovely responses, and I really hope you like this chapter. I've never written anything like this before, so hopefully it's not a complete failure. **

**Judgment Day**

The waiting had to be the worst part. For the past three days, tension and near silence had shrouded our group. Even Tanya, who I was quick to learn always had something to say, sat quiet and immobile. Besides hunting, which every member of my family and The Denali Coven had done religiously, we spent the time dreading the next morning. The eerie calm before the storm might have lasted indefinitely- save for Alice.

On the morning of the fourth day, Alice had the vision that set everything in motion. She saw what we had been both expecting and dreading. The Volturi had made their decision to leave for Forks. Alice saw for certain that Jane, Felix, and other key members of the guard would be coming to deal directly with us. She also saw that Aro, Marcus, and Caius were coming to supervise, something that elicited a grimly knowing look from Carlisle. Carlisle and Eleazar didn't think that Aro knew Alice would be able to see that he and his brothers would be there- we were counting on that much. Though it pained Carlisle to say, the three brothers of The Volturi would need to be dealt with. After all, if we didn't, as Eleazar so wisely put it, that would be treating only the symptoms, not the disease. If we were to ever live in peace, The Volturi needed to be dealt with for good.

When Alice had told us that Aro and his brothers would be watching from a distance, Emmett had muttered, "If we even survive, we can worry about them later." Rosalie had smacked him on the head for that, but he didn't take back the statement. Instead the rest of us nodded in grim acceptance. Edward had squeezed my hand briefly at that point, but I was past all reassurances. Emmett was right.

So Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, Alice, Tanya, Carmen, Eleazar, Kate, Irina, Edward and I set off for the clearing a couple of hours before the sun rose on that fourth day. The wolves had been notified- I hadn't had to call Jake this time. I hadn't spoken to him since before he saw what I had become in the clearing, and I fervently hoped that our awkward phone call of last week wouldn't be our last conversation.

Despite my best arguments and persuasions, I was currently perched and hidden in the branches of a tree on the perimeter of the clearing. I was close to the middle of the field and high up, so that I would have a bird's eye view of the fight. Edward had argued that this was the best way to protect everyone- I needed to be able to see them. He didn't mention what had obviously sold him on the idea: I wouldn't be in the actual fight. My protests had fallen on deaf ears, however, when Jasper agreed with him. Jasper and eventually Carlisle told me that as a newborn, I would be fighting using only my most base instincts- something The Volturi would have no problem overcoming. Despite my grumbling, it made sense; this guard specialized in eliminating newborns like me.

So I crouched in the tree, muscles tensed to jump at any moment. I said another silent thank-you that Alice was blind, because I was still resolute on one thing: I would be the one to eliminate Jane. It was impossible that anyone else should do it, even with me protecting him or her the whole way. My power was still relatively shaky, compared with her centuries of experience. One slip-up on my part, and the person battling Jane would die. No, it had to be me. I would be damned if I let anything happen to Edward, Alice, or the rest of my family.

Or Jake and the wolves. They were my family, too. They may never consider me a 'wolf-girl' again, and they might want me dead, but that didn't change how I felt about them. And it didn't change how I felt about Emily. What would happen to the wolves' imprints if they didn't make it? To Emily, or to little Claire? I would just have to make sure nothing happened to the dozen boys Sam had brought with him.

The werewolves had insisted on leaving a handful to guard LaPush; no one argued with Sam's decision, but no one needed to. We all knew that if those few younger wolves were needed, it would already be too late.

As I was thinking of them, my gaze drifted unconsciously toward the wolves in the clearing. As per the plan, the vampires (except me) were spaced along one half of the clearing, hidden in the dense trees. According to Alice, The Volturi would come from the northern end, so the wolves and my family stayed downwind of them, crouching silently in the darkness. We had the element of surprise- The Volturi didn't have an Alice on their side. Our only hope was the surprise, coupled with The Volturi's limited knowledge of the werewolves, would be enough to win us this fight.

I checked my watch. We had just a few moments now. I scanned the semi-darkness for Edward and found him looking up at my tree, waiting to meet my eyes. I took a deep breath, drinking in the sight of him- strong jawed, tousled bronze hair, and giving me that crooked grin I loved so much. I had precious few opportunities to be dazzled by him left. The seconds ticked by and our caramel eyes never wavered, never left each others'. We had said everything already- we hadn't wanted to admit it at the time, but really, we had already said goodbye. This prolonged look was just an affirmation of our already vowed undying love. Just one last silent 'I love you'. It was all we had in the end, really.

One minute.

What would happen if- God forbid- the worst happened? We didn't make it? I had to remind myself of my own beliefs at this point: Edward had a soul.

Thirty seconds.

Alice caught my eye and winked. What about Alice? She had a soul, too. We'd be okay in the end- I mean, the very end- right?

Ten seconds.

A soulless person could not be capable of love. It would go against the word's very definition.

Five seconds.

And the love Edward and I had was permanent, forged between two souls. Even if we died, it would not. It would go on forever- with or without our still hearts.

Three. Two. One.

It begins.

All heads, animal or otherwise, turned towards the northern edge of the clearing. Faint sounds of passage steadily rose in pitch, bringing with it new waves of trepidation.

I counted the emerging shapes. There were twenty-five total. Twenty-five of the most deadly, ruthless, skilled killing machines on the planet. So we were evenly matched. Thirteen vampires and twelve werewolves versus… the most experienced fighters on the planet. How on earth were we going to survive?

I saw the dark figures to the north of us slow, reaching the edge of the trees. Had they sensed that someone was here? It was entirely possible- we didn't know exactly what powers the twenty-five Volturi had. The deadly vampires still had not moved, as though they were waiting for some kind of an order. I scanned the perimeter of the clearing- were Aro, Marcus, or Caius closer than we'd thought?

A slight breeze ruffled the hem of my sweatshirt, and I suddenly remembered the human feeling of gooseflesh spreading across my skin. I had that peculiar sensation of déjà vu… and then one of my most terrifying human memories came back to me in a sudden rush.

Edward was rearranging my hair on my shoulders. Carlisle and Emmett looked tense and worried. James approached. The worst was almost over. And then… my hair ruffled in the wind. James sank into a crouch as Edward assumed a protective stance in front of me.

With a shudder, I came back to the present. I had a feeling that history was about to repeat itself. A knot of dread formed in my stomach. Were we undone? And then my fears were realized.

There was a sickly sweet laugh, high and clear as a bell. It could have belonged to a little girl- but no girl had ever giggled with as much cruel malice before. That could be only one person.

"Well, what do we have here?" It was undoubtedly Jane. A sadistic pleasure dripped from her every syllable. "The vampires from Denali, too, excellent. We can get this taken care of rather quickly then," she seemed to chuckle softly to herself. "How…convenient."

Even from my great distance, I could easily see Jane's nose wrinkle. Obviously, she had been unprepared for the werewolves. I had a feeling that she couldn't even identify the stench- otherwise she would have been laughing with sick pleasure at their presence.

As horrified as I was by her enjoyment of the scene, I tried to stay focused on her eyes. I couldn't protect them all at once; I would just have to do my best at guessing who she was going to target. I didn't like that we had to resort to that, which was part of the reason it would be better I dealt with her myself.

Demetri, with his oily, long hair came forward to join Jane, along with Alec. I was once again startled by how young he looked- he and Jane might have been two young twins when they were changed. I felt a fleeting moment of sympathy for the children they used to be.

In the seconds that followed Alec and Demetri's appearance, the rest of their guard ranged themselves behind the three of them. All twenty-five wore those trademark billowing cloaks, and all had eyes of a shocking crimson. Amidst the sea of pale skin and red eyes, I recognized Gianna, stunning even by vampire standards, and Felix, whose size reminded me of Emmett.

As one, the vampires on the southern end of the clearing stepped forward out of the shadows. It was a repeat of the last meeting in this clearing where two enemies had met- they were even in the same order. Except the line of my family members and the vampires from Denali was one short; they were missing me.

"Ah, but where is Bella?" Demetri smiled in a sickening way. "I do hope that she is still human…" I thought that the end of his sentence ended with a whispered "delicious" but it was lost to the rumblings of Edward's growl.

Jane's head snapped around to look at Edward. Her upper lip curled in recognition and her eyes narrowed infinitesimally. I focused on Edward, thinking about how much I needed to protect him. I would rather die than see him in that much pain ever again. My eyes were almost shut with the effort that I was exerting. After several seconds, I squinted at Jane.

Her expression changed from one of bemusement to disbelief to fury. One word dropped from her full, blood red lips. "Bella."

My name acted as a catalyst. Edward leaped through the air towards Jane first, with me monitoring her desperately all the way. With a speed that would have blinded any human, a member of the guard launched themselves through the air at Edward, knocking him off his course.

At this, the clearing erupted into chaos.

In a rush of movement and noise, yellow-eyed and red-eyed vampires met, merging into a twisting mass of bodies. With growls and vicious snarling, the dozen wolves joined the throng. From my perch, it was all I could do to keep my focus on Jane. Now that she was out of the way, I could actually hope that we stood a chance. In another setting, it would have been amusing to watch her alternating expressions of bewilderment and rage. However, that didn't mean she wasn't a well-trained killer.

I watched with baited breath as the boldest of the wolves lunged at her. Jane whirled to kick the silver wolf between the shoulder blades, sending it flying. Jane followed the flailing body into the forest, and I couldn't see what happened next.

Near the place Jane had stood, Edward and Gianna were moving so rapidly that they could have been performing a highly choreographed dance. I had eyes only for him as they spun and dodged around each other. Fortunately, Gianna was not the fighter Victoria had been- that, coupled with Edward's ability to react to her next move before she even made it ensured his victory. The final step of the deadly dance: Edward's jaw dipped down to her neck for a brief second, and then the blond head of hair streams toward the mossy ground.

As Edward made short work of dismembering Gianna's headless body, I witnessed tiny Alice being stalked by the hulking mass that was Felix. I was about to cry out in alarm when Alice looked up at me and winked. I breathed a sigh of relief. Jasper, however, did not catch Alice's wink, and he abandoned his own fight, sprinting across the clearing toward his true love. I caught the slight scowl on her face, but Jasper and Alice both were too much for Felix to take.

Nearby, I saw Rosalie fighting a tall, dark haired vampire. He looked extremely young, maybe only sixteen at most. I wondered what his talent was, and focused on protecting Rosalie, just in case. If he weren't formidable, he wouldn't be a part of The Volturi.

Eleazar, Carmen, Irina and Kate were also battling separate vampires. I looked on anxiously, glancing between each fight, but they were moving so fast it was difficult to make out who was winning.

I was also nervously watching the wolves- they were well trained and strong, but had no experience dealing with seasoned vampires. Compared to the guard, the newborns were nothing.

I breathed a sigh of relief when it seemed to me that they were fine. The largest, the one I knew to be Sam, must have been issuing orders left and right, because the pack moved like a well-oiled machine, synchronized all the while. I searched for Jake, but was unable to find his particular russet coat. Panic threatened to overtake me, but I forced myself to be calm and returned to scanning the scene unfolding below.

I thought over and over about protecting my loved ones in the clearing, and from time to time caught expressions of confusion on the faces of The Volturi. It was getting lighter all the while, with the first tell-tale rays beginning to kiss the treetops.

Slowly, the vampires in cloaks seemed to be dwindling. Edward's strong arms were ripping apart the corpse of Demetri- I tried not to stare in disgust at the head with the mane of black hair. The werewolves moved efficiently; hardly anytime at all had passed.

With a start, I realized that I had not been keeping tabs on Jane for a while now. I quickly searched the clearing, not finding her small frame anywhere. She wasn't fighting any one, she wasn't in the tree line. Had she fled?

My mouth must have dropped when I did finally find her. Her short body was crouched even lower to the ground, embracing the dismembered head of Alec. Jane's body shook with anger, and it seemed her evil scarlet eyes were rolling inside her head.

I was stunned. How odd that Jane was capable of love. Alec was probably the only person she had ever cared for- with a gulp of genuine fear, I realized that she was going to be that much more difficult to defeat now.

Jane jumped up suddenly, dropping Alec's head, which rolled pathetically for a few feet. Like a bat from hell, she shot into the still raging fight, not seeming to care who she hurt, Volturi or otherwise. I saw several vampires in cloaks pushed roughly aside, which luckily caused them to lose footing in their respective battles.

"Move!" I heard her shriek. As though in slow motion, I saw Kate spin wildly around, her eyes locking on Jane's screaming face. Doing all I could to protect Kate from Jane's deadly power, I watched their fight unfold.

"I'll kill you! You killed him!" Jane shrieked, her already high voice reaching a new decibel. Jane's cloak whirled and spun faster than I would have thought possible, and Kate did all she could to keep up. Alice may have been blind to the overall outcome of our battle, but her head whipped around to face Kate. Alice's mouth formed a perfect 'o' and she yelled something unintelligible, but it was too late. Kate lost. She had never stood a chance, really. Jane, along with the more talented members of her guard, was practically invincible. It would take at least two fighters to bring any of the remaining Volturi down, and that's exactly what was happening all around Kate's lifeless body.

Edward and Carlisle were taking on a tall man with a pointed face as Alice and Jasper danced around a tiny but lightning fast vampire with shockingly yellow hair. Irina and Tanya, expressions of despair and anger on their lovely faces, unleashed their grief on a huge man that could have rivaled Jasper for height.

Emmett and Eleazar sidestepped an attack from a lithe looking woman, and Rosalie, much to her obvious chagrin, fought alongside a coal-black wolf. I couldn't tell from this distance which wolf it was, but I was relieved to see it appeared unhurt.

Thinking again of Jake, I began to count the werewolves. One…seven…eleven… where was number twelve? Where was Jake? I heard the piercing howl of a werewolf, and my heart dropped to my feet. Oh god. Jake?

Blinking back what might have been tears when I was a human, I searched for Jane. It was her. It had to have been her. Her squat form was just visible between two fights, her face slightly obscured by flailing limbs. Everything seemed to fall quiet as she glided toward me. The chaos and high keening sounds reverberating around the forest faded into the background. Oddly enough, she stared right into my eyes. She had known the entire time.

I was numb, and without thinking I dropped from the tree. I would not hide like a scared coward. Jane's evil face seemed to be smiling at me as she calmly and confidently strode forward. I'd never thought it was possible to feel so much hatred. She killed Jacob.

It could have been seconds or hours, but eventually we were a couple of yards away from each other. She, standing confidently while my shoulders shook with emotion. I was faintly aware of my family's mingled yells, but they were literally fighting for their lives. Edward, desperate to get to me, was almost sobbing at his opponent, wildly slashing the air in an attempt to save me.

My entire life had been leading up to this moment. Steadying myself, I turned to look at her. Her pale face could have been that of an angel- except for her eyes. They were such a sickening red color that I felt the impulse to turn away. I could only imagine whose blood it was that gave them that color, how many she had destroyed. A sudden image flew to my mind; a small, dark woman with a cross, pleading for help. For her life. The would-be angel's eyes widened with glee, as if she knew of whom I was thinking. I felt nauseous as I once again realized that she was having fun- she enjoyed this.

I wrenched my gaze away from the glimmering rubies and sought another face. Edward. In the second our eyes met, I found my strength. His features were contorted with horror but behind that, I saw only love. His love for me. Memorizing his face for one last second, I brought my gaze back to her.

A small, cruel smile spread across her face…and then it began.

I had no idea how I was going to do this. What was I thinking? The only thing I knew was that I was doing the right thing. I was doing the right thing by Jake and for my family. I couldn't let any more people die because of me.

I knew it was my fault, really, in the end. Who had provoked Aro's attention as a human? Who had caught Jane's notice and resentment? Who had single-handedly brought doom to every one she loved while simultaneously breaking the heart of her best friend? The answer, time and time again, was me. So, I had to do this, even if it killed me. Which it probably would.

With a speed greater than that of a cheetah, Jane lunged for my throat. I jumped quickly to the right and dropped into a crouch. I tried my best to imitate Edward, circling back and forth while Jane did the same. Before I could blink, she was at me again. I dodged out of the way in time, but could hardly get my bearings before she leapt again for my throat. There was no way I could do this.

I kept up my side of the dance as best I could, twisting and jumping away from her, using my newly sharp teeth to snap at her claws when they passed near me. I did my best to rely on my instincts, because I really had no clue. My instincts, however, were exactly what she was prepared for. I was going to lose.

With each passing second, my death came closer and closer. Jane lunged wildly, and I tried to focus on each of her moves, throwing myself out of the way each time. Through it all, I had a picture of Edward in my mind's eye. If this was it, I wanted to spend my last few moments with him. Weirdly enough, even in the heat of battle, I remembered the time I almost drowned. I would have died thinking of Edward then, too, if not for Jake…

As Jane flew towards me for what might have been the last time, an enormous shape collided with her. Jane spun around, trying to face her new attacker. The werewolf had latched his jaws to her arm, and she kicked violently at him, probably shattering bone. With each strike, the wolf whimpered in pain, but he held on.

Sensing that I had no time to lose, I joined the werewolf. The wolf's eyes were blocked by Jane's desperately struggling body, but together, we tore off chunks and pieces of the red-eyed vampire.

Finally, all that was left of Jane, the most feared vampire ever, was a pile of twitching stone and fabric.

I looked up at the wolf that had saved me, and nearly fell over in shock and happiness. A pair of achingly familiar eyes set in a russet-colored face stared back at me. Jake. We stood, chests heaving rapidly, not speaking as the last of the battle swirled around us.

Thick purple flames wafted skyward, and dawn broke on the horizon.

Suddenly, the clearing was filled with a dizzying amount of bright light- I was sparkling. We all were, except for, of course, the werewolves, who seemed shocked and disgusted by our scintillating skin. Jake stared at my glittering body with a peculiar expression. Slowly, the rest of the vampires gathered around us, the cloaked corpses of the guard feeding the thick smoke.

No one spoke, until, "It's not over." Carlisle faced east, looking directly into the rising sun. Brilliant rainbows bounced off his skin.

With the glare off Carlisle's sparkling form, I could just make out three people walking towards our group, cloaks billowing with each stride. Aro, Marcus, and Caius at last.

**A/N: So there it is. Not to worry…there's some interesting stuff coming up. The battle isn't over! Still a few chapters to go. There will be 23 chapters in all, with the final chapter as an epilogue. Leave me a review!**

**Random: Did you guys read the Breaking Dawn Quotes of the Day(s)? The rock, paper, scissors one made me laugh really hard. Ahh 19 more days!!**


	20. The Volturi

**Disclaimer: Breaking Dawn, the real one, is coming in 15 days! **

**A/N: Your reviews make me smile.**

THE VOLTURI

Jacob's POV

Bella was going to die. Or at least the vampire that looked like Bella. Jane, that perverted looking, small vampire was about to kill her. Time seemed to slow.

I hated Bella. Or I should. She'd turned her back on me completely, voluntarily becoming my worst enemy. It was obvious she'd never cared for me at all. I hated vampires. I should let her die.

On the other hand, I had promised Bella. I had promised her and myself that I would always love her. But how can I be expected to love some filthy parasite? Even her eyes had streaks of red in them- her own blood. How sick. She was just like Jane, really. She'd kill her own father if she could.

Jane lunged once more for Bella's throat. Bella just barely dodged out of the way in time. Even with her alien face, I could still read her expression of terror. I scanned the crowd; my decision would be so much easier if someone else saved her. Where was Edward when I needed him? It used to be that I couldn't get rid of the leech.

Edward, it turned out, was in the middle of his own intense fight. I saw that he was doing all he could to reach Bella in time, but it wasn't going to be enough.

Unexpectedly, he caught my eye. Stupid mind reader. Edward, in between kicks and maneuvers, pointed at me desperately. He wanted me to save his wife?

_Why should I do anything for you? _I thought back.

Edward's panicked eyes went from me, to Bella, then back to me again.

_She doesn't mean anything to me anymore. She's just a disgusting vampire, like you. You won, remember?_

By arguing with Edward, I knew I was really arguing with myself. He was right. I couldn't just let Bella die.

Jane's right arm reached again for Bella, and I moved faster than I ever had before. I jumped from my place amongst the trees to latch onto the hand that was about to hurt Bella.

Jane's size was deceiving- she was stronger and had more tenacity than any other vampire I'd ever met. Bella took advantage of Jane's distraction, using both hands to rip Jane's free arm from its shoulder. Together, Bella and I destroyed the vile parasite. Jane's last furious screams added to the din of high keening in the clearing.

My broad shoulders heaved with exhaustion and emotional strain. I was staring into the formerly brown eyes of Bella Swan, the girl I used to love.

_NO! _Sam's voice rang in my head. It took me a moment to realize that his mental alarm was not directed at me.

I froze, still staring into the eyes of the vampire that used to be Bella. But something bigger was happening; I couldn't focus on my own internal battle right now. Leah was dying.

_Leah! I always knew her wrecklessness would kill her…_

_… Oh my God…_

_If Jake hadn't already killed the bloodsucker who did this…_

A storm of tumulted and confused thoughts ran through my head. I'd known this was dangerous, but the rest of the pack and I had always sort of assumed we were invincible. Leah couldn't die.

My thoughts were once again interrupted- something was trying to blind me. The pack and I were in a state of confusion for a second, and then understanding dawned. _Sparkling._ They were sparkling in the light. How ironic… this, the darkest of days, should dawn clear and sunny.

Bella's skin, and every other vampire's in the clearing, was glittering like so many diamonds. I was torn, looking at her, by its unnaturalness and innate beauty. I felt that I should be disgusted, but the most I could muster up was awe.

And then, amidst the external and internal chaos, the leech named Carlisle turned into the sun.

There were three decrepid, frail looking old vampires. Or they should have been frail. It was as though instead of bowing down with age, they were given a new authority and control by it. For the first time today, I began to feel a real thrill of fear. These three vampires radiated confidence and power.

The men seemed to float forward, not touching the ground. And their thin, translucent skin gleamed brightest of all in the sun.

I assumed that the leader- in the center with long black hair- was Aro. I had been told that the other two were named Marcus and Caius. Marcus- I thought he was Marcus, anyway- stood to the left of Aro and had identical black hair. The only discernible difference was his expression- or lack there of. Oddly, he came across as quite apathetic.

Caius, the leech on the right, had shockingly white hair to match his skin. Where Marcus's expression was indifferent and Aro's was positively eager, Caius's expression was cold and calculating.

All three had eyes of the deepest red, but were somehow milky. Like a cloudy film from millennia past had been left there.

"Carlisle, my old friend," Aro addressed Carlisle, spreading his arms in a gesture of greeting.

_Has this bloodsucker gone senile or what? _Quil thought.

It was stranger still how Carlisle matched Aro's polite tone. They could have been visiting eachother at the holidays for Christ's sake. "Aro, how nice of you to make the trip out here."

_Is this guy serious? _

While Carlisle and Aro had been exchanging bizarrely friendly greetings, the vampires and the pack had ranged themselves in a line behind him. An unspoken knowledge- a battle line. We stood mixed together, too tired to care that our nostrils were burning. All that is, except for Sam and Leah. Leah was breathing her last breaths, and Sam was by her side. As the "beta"- I winced as I thought of Bella's word for it, and Edward's hand jerked almost reflexively- I was now responsible for catching all the details and leading the pack. Sam would never tell me outright, but he was going to need some time.

He didn't have to tell me, anyway- the entire pack could hear it.

_Sam? _Leah's usually biting edge was gone, her thoughts made softer by impending death.

_I'm right here._

Aro was still talking pleasantly. He could have been admiring the scenery or talking about the weather for all the emotion he betrayed. "I see you've teamed up with the werewolves." My brothers and I bristled, shifting up and down the line. "How unnatural. But then again, you never were one for convention."

Carlisle, about six or seven feet away from him, didn't reply.

"And the vampires from Denali, too. How nice of you to join us." Aro nodded genially to each in turn.

Eleazar, the man with the accent and slow, deliberate voice, addressed Aro in the same passive style. "Hello, Aro. We meet at last."

The creepy- well, creepiest- of the three was busy x-raying me with his eyes as his brother chatted happily. Marcus's face remained slack, but his eyes roved constantly over me, Bella, and then Edward. Edward's glance also flickered to me every couple of seconds. I really hated it that Edward could read minds; didn't he have enough?

It caught my notice, however, when Aro began to address Bella. I quickly stopped wasting my time focusing on the white-haired freak.

"Bella, was I not right? I was sure that you would have an extraordinary gift."

Instead of answering, Bella shrank closer to Edward, who grasped her hand –the one with the ring- more firmly. I looked away.

"Your invitation still stands… the same goes for you, Edward, and of course to young Alice."

Alice glared defiantly, raising one thin, black eyebrow in disbelief. I didn't have to be a mind-reader to translate… did Aro not realize it was over? He had lost.

The entire time that pack and I tried desperately to pay attention to what was happening before our eyes, but that didn't change what we knew was going on just beyond the shade of the trees. Leah was saying goodbye.

_Sam?_

_Yeah?_

_I don't hate you, you know._

_I know._

_It wasn't your fault._

_I know._

The pack and I tried our best to give them some privacy, but the pack-mind doesn't really allow for that. So all of our canine faces must have displayed open-mouthed shock with comical synchronization.

_I love you, Sam._

_I-I love you, too, Leah. And I'm sorry._

_I know. _

For the next couple of minutes, Leah did not have conscious thought. The pack and I just watched Leah's labored breathing through Sam's eyes…until it finally stopped.

A werewolf howled.

_What the-_

Quil's thought cut off suddenly, because Seth, without warning, turned from the line and ran towards where Leah and Sam should be. No one went after him. In fact, the vampires paid us no attention at all.

"So, old friend." Aro clasped his hands together across his abdomen, looking at Carlisle with a faint smirk. "Where do we go from here? You aren't going to kill me."

It wasn't a question.

Edward interrupted. _About time,_ I thought with a snort, _he can't go a whole five minutes without butting in. _

"And why not? You have no one left… and as you know, even Caius can't touch us." Edward gestured toward Bella with a pale hand, whose eyes widened in shock. I still couldn't get over the strangeness of them; they weren't quite yellow, but not still completely red, either.

Now that I thought about it, I'd never been told what the infamous Volturi's talents were. I'd assumed they were formidable… but I was beginning to realize that they were nothing without their guard.

Carlisle, never losing his cool, lifted a hand towards Edward for silence. "You're right, Aro. We're not going to kill you. It's not necessary."

"What?! If we don't they'll just come after us again!" the big blonde vampire burst out.

_Oh shut up, _Paul thought savagely. He never got over the fight with Emmett. He'd take another round anyday.

"No…no, Emmett, you misunderstand. I meant we don't need to because Aro, Marcus, and Caius here will never threaten us again. Aro is too terrified of death to face us again. He knows very well that Bella makes us practically invincible."

Edward nodded, staring hard at Aro, no doubt breaking into his mind. "Carlisle's right. The Volturi aren't the oldest vampires in the world for nothing… they're terrified of death. And even Aro knows that he can't win."

Incredibly, Aro still smiled. And Marucs and Caius remained silent. "It is true that I would prefer not to find out what lays beyond…and by all means, I agree that young Bella here has turned out quite impressively."

The sun climbed higher in the sky.

And just like that, as easily as they had come, The Volturi left.

_WHAT?_

Every single wolf was thinking the same thing. This had to be a joke. Wanting to speak for myself, I sprinted for the spot where my clothes were hidden and came back within a minute.

"Hold on, le- Carlisle. It wasn't just your decision! They wanted to come after us, too, remember?"

Edward shook his head, butting in already.

"I saw Aro's mind very clearly. Death is truly his biggest fear, and the reason he has always kept himself so well protected. We've taken that away from him and he's the most terrified he's ever been. He's learned his lesson. Besides… he might not even make it back to Italy."

"What do you mean?" I folded my arms, getting tired of this quickly. It was also hard to keep avoiding Bella's gaze. Seeing her as a werewolf was different, somehow. A little bit easier, maybe.

"The Volturi have been slaughtering their own kind for centuries… I'm sure there are those who wouldn't think twice about returning the favor."

"I-" I hated to give the vampires, Edward especially, their way so easily, but they had a point. The three old bloodsuckers weren't a threat anymore. Besides, I had more important things to deal with.

The line of wolves and vampires had started to separate itself back out, the werewolves gravitating towards me and the spot where we would go collect Leah's body.

I nodded once, swallowing hard. I needed to get away from Bella. Too much longer and I would have to look directly at her.

"Fine. The treaty still stands. Stay off our land."

As one, the werewolves turned to find Sam and Leah. I followed behind at a human pace, determined not to run. I would walk away from Bella and not look back.

"Jake! Wait!"

Bella's hand was outstretched towards me, and I recoiled instantly. She was still a vampire. And then I made the mistake of looking at her. She still looked like she used to… just sharper, and the eyes were different. But I would know her anywhere… she was all I thought about. Bella looked so hurt that I almost felt badly. Almost. She'd made her choice.

"Do you hate me?" Just one question in a soft, defeated voice. She sounded exhausted.

A simple question. The answer should have been a resounding "yes". She was a bloodsucker, no different from anyone else. The Bella I'd known had died the second she let _Edward_ kill her.

"No."

**A/N: Opinions? It was really hard to decided what to do with The Volturi, so let me know what you think. Two characters died, and I know that might seem unrealistic. However, I wasn't about to go killing off Stephenie's characters. Also, I didn't think it was fair to pick on The Denali vampires or the wolves (too much). **

**Personally, my favorite part of this chapter is Sam's reaction to Leah's death- in my opinion, just because he imprinted doesn't mean he couldn't still love Leah. **

**Q: Will there be a sequel?**

**A: Kind of. I'm working on a Jake/Jamie story at the moment, and I'm really excited about it. Also, depending on how the real Breaking Dawn ends, I might do my version of what book number five could be (too bad it won't really happen). When/if either of these projects are ready, I'll post an announcement here, so just alert this story if you haven't already. **

**Gotta love those reviews!**


	21. Aftermath

**Disclaimer: The real book comes out in 14 days!**

AFTERMATH

It was over, just like that? Carlisle and Edward's reasoning made sense, but I couldn't help but agree with Emmett…why not put it to an end forever?

"Edward?" I whispered as soon as Aro, Marcus, and Caius were out of sight. I would have said something sooner, but just seeing them again terrified me. Their papery skin and floating bodies made me remember all those people in Volterra I had seen, walking unsuspectingly towards death. Randomly, I wondered what had happened to the receptionist there. I couldn't decide which fate I wished for her; it was gruesome to wish death on a person, but more gruesome still to wish someone become what the Volturi were.

Edward, who had been holding me during the entire conversation with The Volturi, seemed to come back to himself when I called his name. He looked down at me, fire flashing in his eyes. "_What _were you thinking?!"

"I-"

"It's a miracle you weren't _killed._ I've never been so scared in my entire existence! Jane was so close- Jake wasn't sure- I couldn't get there- You, gone forever…" What had began as furious hysteria was slowly becoming something I recognized well.

"God, will you please, for the last time, _stop blaming yourself_. What I did was my decision. You're right, I would have- I would have died, but I had a better chance than anyone else. We all know my power isn't perfect right now. And Jacob _did_ save me."

"You promised." Edward looked so hurt, and it caused me actual physical pain to know I had caused that. His eyes didn't quite meet mine.

I used my left hand to gently raise his chin so that he had to look me straight in the eye. The palm of my right hand rested on his pale cheek. "I'm sorry I lied."

"You're apologizing for the wrong thing. You very nearly took yourself away from me forever…_again._"

"I wasn't trying to die, you know. I wouldn't want to miss out on forever with you."

"Could've fooled me." His tone was flat, but his hand covered the hand that was resting on his cheek, and he pressed it there more firmly.

"Can you forgive me? It's over now…you said that The Volturi will never bother us again, right?"

"Right," he sighed. "Bella, I love you too much to stay mad."

"I love you, too. And I'm going to be here to love you forever," I promised. I took one step forward, so that his tall frame enveloped me. Edward's chiseled chin rested on top of my head, and his free hand cupped the small of my back.

All around the clearing, the couples were doing to same thing. Jasper and Alice were staring deeply into one another's eyes in that intimate way of theirs; it was a closer connection, somehow, than touching alone. Emmett and Rosalie were celebrating rather _enthusiastically, _to say the least. Eleazar and Carmen, and Carlisle and Esme, simply entwined hands. Their love was so old and unspoken that they didn't need more than that. Besides, the two oldest couples were walking towards what was left of The Succubus Sisters.

Irina and Tanya had both collapsed on the ground, holding each other and dry heaving. There were no tears, of course, but the sounds reminded me of the awful, bone-chilling, keening sounds of death. They were in mourning for their sister, Kate.

Slowly, all the vampires became still and silent around the two mourning sisters from Denali. It occurred to me that maybe no one knew quite what to say. I felt like I was drowning in a feeling of overwhelming acceptance and forced peace; Jasper looked strained, like forcing this atmosphere was more difficult than usual. It must have been- Tanya and Irina's raw grief seemed to be suffocating Jasper.

Eventually, Carlisle made eye contact with Edward, who nodded briefly after a couple of seconds. I was going to ask Edward later on, and I expect to have to force it out of him, so it surprised me when he lightly tugged on my hand, leading me away from the huddle in the middle of the smoky clearing.

"Carlisle wants to go speak with Sam," Edward whispered.

"I'm coming." A statement, not a question.

"I know," he sighed, causing me to smirk slightly. I didn't need him to carry me on his back anymore- I'd like to see him try and stop me.

I was set to start running toward the La Push boundary when Edward cleared his throat. "I shoulder probably tell you…" He gestured to me, and to Carlisle who had come to join us. "…Leah died today, and Sam is pretty shaken."

I couldn't think of a reply, so I just nodded, but I thought about Leah the entire run to La Push. I remembered the dark, brooding girl that I'd seen at the bonfire, with a single tear on her cheek. I also remembered being shocked when I'd found out that Sam and Leah were together before the imprint thing happened. I couldn't even imagine how painful that must have been for Leah.

But I didn't just pity Leah- or, I remembered with a pang, her brother and mother who had already lost Harry- I felt sorry for Sam. Jake had told me that Sam imprinted on Emily, and it was clear that Sam loved her very much. However, I just couldn't believe that anyone could stop caring about the person they had once loved so wholly. It was impossible that Sam didn't still love Leah. I'd always suspected that Jake knew it, too, but he never said anything out of respect for his Chief.

"What are you going to say, Carlisle?"

We had reached the La Push boundary, but didn't dare cross. True, we were on better terms with the wolves now, but somehow I didn't think they'd take too kindly to us just barreling onto their land.

"I just wanted to discuss a few things with Sam… obviously, we can't live in Forks right now, but I did think that maybe, one day…" Carlisle stopped speaking then, staring pensively into the still forests of La Push.

"You mean… we could come back here one day?" I asked breathlessly. I'd grown used to Forks; I loved it, really, and I would miss every green, cloudy, soggy day.

Edward reached for my hand and treated me to my favorite crooked grin. "Why not? It is our home."

It really was. It was the place where everything started.

There must have been at least one wolf on patrol that saw us, because soon enough Sam and Jake were walking towards the border. The sun gleamed off of their dark russet skin; I took it as a good sign that they hadn't phased in order to come speak with us.

"Carlisle." Sam addressed Carlisle with a nod, and then nodded to Edward. Finally, his black eyes were on me. I felt nervous- Sam, of all people, hated me the most. Then, when I thought he would ignore me completely-

"Bella."

I lifted one hand in silent greeting. I was too stunned to speak, plus I was distracted completely by Jake. He didn't hate me, so at least I had that much. But he sure as hell hadn't forgiven me, either.

Carlisle began to address Sam, and Edward stood quietly by, not really needing to speak much; there wasn't a need for a translator.

"I'm sorry for your loss…" I heard Carlisle begin gravely. Sincerity rang in his every word. I zoned out, however, for the rest of the discussion. Jacob was once again avoiding my eyes, so I was just as determinedly trying to catch his gaze.

After a few minutes of this game, I felt a slight tug on my hand. But Edward wasn't trying to pull me back home, not yet. He understood that I needed to say my final goodbye.

"I'll see you at home," he murmured in my hair. "I won't listen."

I nodded, thankful that I had such an understanding husband. I knew that it must still be hard for him, but I was also sure that the ring on my finger softened the blow a bit.

Pretty soon it was just Jacob and me. This was awkward.

"Just like old times, huh? Me and you?" I felt ridiculous. It didn't used to be so hard for me to talk to Jake. Not so long ago we'd been able to talk about anything.

At my words, Jacob finally raised his head. One eyebrow lifted in contempt as his eyes raked over my newly marble body. "Not quite like old times."

I would have laughed, but I didn't think Jake would like me to. His eyes were so serious- much too old-looking to belong to my personal sun. "No," I finally agreed, "not exactly."

"Why did you want to talk to me, Bella? Hasn't everything been said?"

I shook my head at his obstinacy, frowning. I hated that there was so much space between us- figuratively and literally. Jake stood on his side of the boundary, and I on mine, about ten feet away.

"Jake, this time when I leave, I'm not coming back."

I think that Jake meant to be indifferent, but he stopped kicking his feet in the dirt in spite of himself, and some deep emotion creased his brow.

"I thought so."

"Yeah. So, I guess, I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Bye."

That hurt. We were never going to see each other again, but he tried to brush me off? If I could've touched him at all, I would have punched him. This time, it wouldn't break my hand.

"Is that all you have to say to me, Jacob? Is that all my best friend has to say to me?"

For a minute, I thought he was going to yell about how no _leech _could ever be his best friend. Instead, something completely unexpected came tumbling from his lips.

"I imprinted."

I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I should be happy for Jake- I _was_ happy for him. But still, that selfish side of me wanted him for myself. I was still an awful person, I was still trying to have them both: Edward and Jacob.

"Oh! That's… congratulations," I croaked out, finally.

Jake laughed then, hollowly. "You said you'd be jealous of her… are you?" He seemed genuinely curious.

"Yes," I answered honestly. He nodded, but I think that that somehow made him feel better. "And I don't think she's good enough for you either," I joked, tacking that on at the end. Jake's ghost of a smile appeared on his face, remembering one of our last conversations.

"She's still not you, though," Jake sighed.

"She was never meant to be," I whispered.

Jacob nodded silently. We both knew it at this point; he was meant to be with his imprint, and I was meant to be with Edward.

I took a couple of hesitant steps toward the boundary. After a moment of indecision, Jacob did the same. I noticed that he'd gotten a haircut; his deep black hair no longer brushed his shoulders. It was cropped close to his head again, the way it should have been all along. I was happy that Jake would be happy now, too, but that didn't mean I wasn't feeling an ache in me somewhere. Not nearly as bad as when Edward had left me, but there was still a missing piece. I knew, instinctively, that this was not something time would ever heal.

Jake's warm, tanned hand stretched toward the borderline, and my pale, cold one did the same.

We didn't clasp hands in farewell. We didn't even touch fingertips or cross the invisible treaty line. That would have been too much to ask…from either one of us. The truth was that we were no longer just Bella and Jacob. As much as I might wish that we could be, that was in the past.

We were not a part of each other's futures.

"Goodbye, Jake. I love you," I told him, staring into his chocolate brown eyes for the last time.

"Goodbye, Bella," Jacob whispered.

And then it was over. My best friend, my personal sun, walked away, back to his world. And I went back to mine.

A few hours later, Edward and I lay on the bed in the mostly empty house. We were too emotionally and physically exhausted to do much- not that we needed to. After all, it wasn't like we didn't have eternity to figure out where to go from here.

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"Alice never really had that vision, did she?"

Edward's upper lip twitched slightly. "What vision?"

"The one that showed me gaining control of my power."

"Well…no…"

I laughed out loud for what felt like the first time in ages.

**A/N: Haha I love Alice. Okay, one more chapter and an epilogue left! They're going to be posted by Sunday because that's when I'm leaving for vacation… so a nice welcome home gift would be reviews (wink, wink). **

**On the subject of sequel-ish stories: If I do my version of a book 5 (probably will) it will be called Eternal Damnation. The Jake story is still unnamed, but I need people to let me know what they want to see there- all Jake POV, some of Jake and Jamie, or all Jamie? Feel free to give me ideas or opinions, etc.**


	22. Eternal Damnation

**Disclaimer: The real Breaking Dawn comes out in 13 days!**

ETERNAL DAMNATION

I sat in the middle of the living room- it was mostly empty now, so I sprawled out on the floor. Everyone else had gone hunting, but I'd opted to stay behind. They were going mostly for something to do; we didn't really need to yet.

I was trying to remember every detail about my first visit here. To my extreme irritation, some things were fuzzy. It was a little scary, actually; memories made up who you were. What if I gradually forgot _me_?

But scarier still, what if one day I forgot everyone and everything that I loved? One day, everyone would be gone… Charlie, Renee, Jake, Angela, Ben, Jessica… they weren't a permanent part of my life.

The only constant I had was my family; for that I was extremely grateful.

"Hi Bella!"

I looked up from my spot on the floor. I was a little surprised to see Alice here, bouncing into the room and grinning enthusiastically. "Aren't you supposed to be hunting?"

She waved one hand in the air breezily. "I think Jasper can stand to be without me for a few hours. Besides, it'll give him time to miss me." Alice dropped a huge, overly dramatic movie wink. I mimed gagging.

"Alice, why are you really here?"

She heaved a huge sigh and danced across the room to sit cross-legged next to me. "I saw that you might need someone to talk to."

"Edward?"

"I thought that you would want to talk to me."

I nodded. "He feels so guilty already…it's just that this time, when we leave, there's no coming back- at least not to the Forks I know. And when Carlisle said we'd come back _one day_ it dawned on me that that's decades from now when everyone we know is… dead."

Alice took my hand. "Bella, you have to remember that that's the way things are supposed to happen…we're just the exception to the rule. Besides, they won't ever really be gone."

I looked at her skeptically; I couldn't believe I was about to get some spiritual speech from Alice.

"No, no," she laughed, realizing what I thought. "I just mean that you're always going to be here to remember them, even centuries from now."

"I guess you're right. But that doesn't change how much I'm going to miss them. I just… I knew this was going to be difficult. I just didn't know it was possible for it to be this hard."

"Aw, I know." Alice wrapped her tiny arms around my shoulders and started rocking back and forth slightly. It was nice. It was sisterly.

"You know," Alice said, "you don't need to worry about Charlie or Renee…or Jake."

I chuckled a little bit. "Another made-up vision to reassure me?"

Anyone else would have been embarrassed to be caught, but Alice was just mad. She pulled away from me and it looked like she was going to stand-up, find Edward, and give him a piece of her mind, right then and there. "He told you?!"

"It's okay, Alice," I laughed. "I'm glad you did. You might have saved all of our lives."

"Humph. And no, this vision actually happened. I know that they're going to be happy. Jake ends up with his imprint and a litter of kids. Charlie finally remarries."

"Really?" I smiled widely. It was a relief to know that he wouldn't starve to death, if nothing else. Plus I couldn't stand the thought of him being alone. "To who?"

"Rebecca Clearwater."

At first, I was really surprised, and it must have shown on my face.

"Not for a couple of years," Alice reassured me. "But they both finally make each other happy again."

"Good. At least Charlie won't be left to do his own cooking," I finally said.

Alice continued. "Renee will always look at Phil with goo-goo eyes. In fact…" she hesitated slightly, running her fingers through her short mane of hair.

"What?"

"I just don't know how you'll feel about it. But Renee has another baby. A little boy."

I nodded for a minute, trying to digest that. Then I decided it was a good thing- my mom wasn't replacing me, but I was glad she would have her perfect little family. "What do they name him?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Edward Phillip Dwyer. But he'll go by Eddie."

I laughed, imagining some little boy somewhere running around with Edward's name and taking care of his scatter-brained mom. "Edward's going to love that."

"What will I love?" A warm velvet voice asked from the doorway. I smiled up at Edward, inviting him to join us. He sat with us on the floor and immediately drew me up into his arms, like he'd been aching to be without me for any amount of time. I felt that same way.

"Renee is going to name her son after you. But he'll be called Eddie."

Edward grimaced, and a second later I found out why. Emmett strolled through the doorway and, as usual, his broad shoulders barely cleared the frame. He was roaring with laughter, having obviously heard what I'd just said. "Does that mean we can call you Eddie now?"

"Don't you dare," Edward threatened.

"Aw come on, Eddie-kins! Little Ed. Ed-o. Eddie-boy. Eddie-"

"Enough!" Edward growled, looking extremely irritated.

"Jeez, Eddie, lighten up." Emmett smirked at Edward and winked at me, still shaking with laughter.

I decided to try a little something to calm Edward down. I leaned over slightly to put my mouth next to Edward's ear, purposefully letting my lips brush over his earlobe slightly as I spoke. "Is it okay if I call you Eddie?" I whispered.

I saw his Adam's apple move as he swallowed hard.

This time, it was Alice who mimed gagging. Emmett joined in, and they were mid-retch when the rest of the family walked into the house.

"What are you doing?" Esme asked, bewildered.

But Alice was already dancing to Jasper's side. "Nothing, Esme," she said before telling Jasper something in a low voice that even I couldn't quite catch. Jasper's eyes widened a tiny bit, though, and I felt my stomach leap strangely before they left the room.

"What was that?" I asked Edward.

It looked like he wasn't going to tell me, but he just rolled his eyes. "Something about showing Jasper how much he missed her."

"Oh," I squeaked out.

Edward chuckled softly at my reaction. "Let's get out of here. Do you want to visit our meadow one last time?"

I nodded and agreement, and we got up from the floor. "We'll be back, we're just going to visit the meadow for a bit," I informed the remaining occupants of the room.

Emmett laughed and whistled the way a man in a bad comedy might. "Sure," he said, making the word two syllables and waggling his eyebrows suggestively. "The meadow. Gotcha."

"Emmett! That's not…" I glanced at Carlisle and Esme, who were busily pretending to be completely oblivious.

"No need to explain to me, Bella. You and Eddie have fun at the meadow…" Emmett made every word in the sentence sound dirty, somehow.

Edward just rolled his eyes at our brother before taking my hand. We said goodbye to Carlisle, Esme and Rosalie (who was scolding Emmett when we left) and ran towards our meadow, hand in hand the entire time.

The meadow was as it had always been- it was even sunny this time, too. Edward was as breathtaking as ever as he sparkled. I looked down at my hands, fascinated.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm really glad it didn't take us half the morning to get here." Edward chuckled, but it didn't last long.

He placed his hands on my shoulders, and then began to slowly draw them down my arms. I shivered. Finally, when he reached my fingertips, he brought them up to his mouth to gently kiss them. Then, at the same agonizingly slow pace, his hands traced the same route back up my arms and to my shoulders. All I could do was stand there. At last, his arms went to my back and he pulled me to his chest.

Our lips moved together until I forget where I stopped and he began. Edward still tasted so good…

When Edward pulled away, he was breathing hard. Predictably, I pouted the second his mouth stopped its assault. "I've been waiting to do that all day. It was worth the wait."

I smiled and pulled him down onto the long, soft grass with me. "Good."

For a while, we just looked up at the sky in silence, holding hands and not really needing anything more than that. Now that the chaos of the past weeks was over, we could enjoy just being together.

"Bella?"

"Mmm?"

"Remember before our wedding when I, um, kept telling you I was going hunting… a lot?"

I sat up quickly and my eyes narrowed. "Yes…why? What were you doing?"

One corner of Edward's mouth lifted up in a smile and he showed both palms in mock surrender. "Nothing to worry about, I just wanted to surprise you and I think now is finally the right time."

"Okay…" I began suspiciously. "But the last time you surprised me I ended up with an unnecessary gift."

"Don't worry, you'll love this." When he could see that I didn't quite believe him, he leaned over me to kiss the corner of my mouth. "Trust me."

I sighed. "Fine. Tell me then," I said impatiently.

Edward chuckled again, clearly in a good mood, which made me even more nervous. "This is it."

I looked around, confused. "What?"

He gestured around us. "I bought this land for us. I figured that one day, when we come back here, we might want to live here." When I didn't speak, he nervously added, "Or just to have, we don't have to build a house here. I know you hate presents, but really, this is for both of us, so…"

I silenced him by covering my mouth with his.

"I take it you like your surprise, then?"

"It's perfect. Thank-you."

It was really our meadow now, and it was nice knowing that it would always be here for us.

Once more, I was on my back in _our_ meadow. Edward was leaning over me, doing that thing with his eyes that always makes me tremble. He would drink in the sight of me for so long that I would be literally aching to feel his hands on me. Occasionally, he would swoop down and kiss my eyelids, my cheeks, my shoulder, my hipbone… and when he finally let our lips meet it was like lightning and stars. Then he would stare deeply into my eyes; the topaz always sent me over the edge.

Edward was looking into my eyes when he spoke. "Hey, the last of the red has faded from your eyes."

Automatically, my hand reached up to almost touch my right eye. "Really?" I grinned enormously, really happy that I no longer looked anything like Jane. "Now I'm just like you!"

"Silly Bella," Edward murmured. "You are far too perfect an angel to be just like me."

I sighed and shook my head. "You're my angel, and that's all I care about, Edward."

"So you don't care that I've damned you for eternity?"

I rolled my eyes. "How many times am I going to have to convince you?" And then before he could answer me, I convinced him without words. I poured everything into the kiss: my love, my grief, and my hope for our future. But most of all I tried to show him the overwhelming life- we were so _alive_. When I broke the kiss I could see something was different in his eyes; not a huge change, but it might be just enough.

"You know what I was thinking?"

Edward let out a short laugh. "No, what?"

"This eternal damnation thing isn't so bad."

I could feel Edward's smile in our kiss.

**A/N: Just the epilogue left! How many people are so ridiculously excited for the actual Breaking Dawn that they obsessively read the quotes of the day and count down the time with the clock thing on SM's website? …Psh, not me. That'd just be weird…**

**Keep reviewing!**


	23. Epilogue

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.**

EPILOGUE

When Sam asked me to come down to the La Push boundary with him, I didn't need to ask why. I knew that Bella would be there; saying goodbye was the type of thing that she would do.

During the short trip to the border and the even briefer conversation between Carlisle and Sam I kept my eyes downcast. Saying goodbye was going to be hard enough, I didn't need to give myself more opportunities to miss her. It was better this way.

Before I knew it, it was just the two of us standing there. I didn't know what to say, but I didn't move any closer. The smell of her burned in my nose, a constant reminder of what she truly was.

"Just like old times, huh? Me and you?" Bella's words sounded forced and I looked at her incredulously. Was she serious? Those times had ended when she'd chosen Edward.

"Not quite like old times," I muttered.

She agreed with my in an even smaller voice, but still I did not look up. I decided that I would just have to get it over with. I was stunned for a second by her beauty; as much as I loathed admitting it, Bella was gorgeous, even if it meant she was one of them.

"Why did you want to talk to me Bella?" I asked. "Hasn't everything been said?"

"Jake, this time when I leave, I'm not coming back."

I didn't answer for a moment, but squinted around at the trees around us and scuffed my feet in the dirt. I knew it, but it didn't make the reality any easier. "I thought so."

"Yeah. So I guess I just wanted to say goodbye." Long tendrils of chocolate brown hair ruffled slightly in the breeze.

"Bye." I knew that sounded rude, but how was I supposed to say goodbye to her?

"Is that all you have to say to me, Jacob? Is that all my best friend has to say to me?"

What else was I supposed to tell her? That I would never forget her? That I would always think of her as my best friend? I couldn't say any of those things; when she left, the words would haunt me and make it harder to forget.

"I imprinted," I finally flung at her. I wanted her to know, but I didn't really know exactly why. Maybe just to see her reaction.

Bella's response sounded a little shaky. "Oh! That's…congratulations."

"You said you'd be jealous of her… are you?" I wondered out loud.

"Yes," she said openly. I nodded, somehow feeling better. At least she still cared enough to be jealous. I was even able to almost smile for the first time in a long time when she said she didn't think my imprint would be good enough for me.

"She's not you, though," I sighed. I could admit it to her, at least. I knew now that it was pointless to fight my imprint- and I didn't even want to be miserable anymore. I just couldn't help but wish it had happened differently.

"She was never meant to be." Bella's eyes were brooding, but the expression on her face was once of certainty. She knew that we were never supposed to happen. I supposed that I did, too; Edward would take care of her. And I would have to take care of… _Jamie._ My subconscious sighed at the release of her name; I hadn't even allowed myself to think of her.

Bella walked slowly toward the boundary line and looked up at me with a pleading expression. I mirrored her slow steps until we could have reached out and touched each other. Could have- we didn't. I might not be able to handle it, but something told me that maybe it was for the best. I didn't need to remember forever just how icy cold her hand was.

"Goodbye, Jake. I love you," Bella told me softly. The words no longer made my heart leap with joy- at this point, it was impossible to do. She would always be my friend, though. No matter where, or what, she was.

"Goodbye, Bella," I whispered back. I didn't say _I love you_, because it didn't need to be said. Besides, it was time that I found someone who could love me back in the way she couldn't.

And then I walked away. I tried not to look back at all, but wasn't able to do it. I turned around at the last possible second, just for one last memory. Her hand was raised in the air in a final gesture of farewell. I knew that I would never see her again.

Once I was almost back to my house in La Push, I stopped running and phased back, tugging on my clothes. I was thinking about Sam and Leah; he was in a lot of pain right now. Sam had never stopped loving Leah, really. Sam loved Emily more than the world, but I knew from experience that it was possible to love more than one person.

Without thinking, I quickly threw on a shirt and hopped in my old car- it was time. I needed to do this, finally. Besides, it was killing me not to.

I drove toward Forks High School, looking at the clock on the dashboard. It was just about time for her to get out of school.

I had only to wait in my car for a couple of minutes outside the main building of the school. Finally, she appeared, walking next to that blonde friend I'd seen her with before.

I began to walk slowly toward her, gradually getting nervous. What if she thought I was a freak? Would she even recognize me at all?

She looked up suddenly, meeting my eyes. Students milled about around us, but I was just as frozen as the first time I saw her. Blue eyes widened in recognition and she gestured wordlessly for her surprised looking friend to go on ahead.

I swallowed once. My hands were shaking- not from fear but from a kind of anxious anticipation. I'd been missing her so much, and I barely knew her.

I took a deep breath, noticing again her scent. Citrus and beaches, just like summer. Her eyes still watched me as she bit on her full bottom lip in confusion. I reached one hand out to shake hers, and jumped slightly when our skin made contact. I could tell that she felt the shock, too.

"Hi, Jamie. I'm Jacob."

**A/N: It's finally done! The real book will be here soon, but thank you all so much for enjoying my take on Breaking Dawn. Thank you to everyone who's been reading and especially to people who review. Like I said before, I'll let you know when I have another story ready. **

**Also, if you're looking for something to read before Breaking Dawn comes out, check out the Community I created. If you like my writing style, you'll probably enjoy the type of stories there.**

**Thanks, guys, I've loved writing this!**


	24. Author's Note

Hello!

Okay, so if you haven't finished Breaking Dawn (the real one) yet, I recommend stopping here.

I know I said that I would do a sequel. And at the time, I really meant it. But Breaking Dawn has left me so incredibly disappointed and unenthusiastic. I would've done a fifth book, but right now I refuse to work with the weird "Nessie" thing. To be honest, I kind of liked the plot of my story better.

I'm still fresh from shock. If at any point my mind changes, I will let you know.

I'm going to keep writing, I have two wolf stories and maybe I'll try a human fanfic. All I know is that I really can't write anymore about SM's Edward and Bella, because part of them was ruined for me in this book. I'm not going to put all my opinions here, because then I'll get more angry messages than I already will have. But that's the way I feel.

Once again, you guys are the best,

Laura M.


End file.
